Muv Luv: Provenance
by G3rMan
Summary: Takeru's eyes open to find himself in a hospital bed, inhabiting a new loop in an eerily familiar world. It quickly becomes apparent that all that he accepted as fact has been turned on its head. While the BETA threat remains, new challenges and opportunity present hope. Now, he struggles to find the answers as to why he was pulled into that world, and what he can do to save it.
1. Waking Up

_Muv Luv: Provenance_

* * *

The rhythmic beat of a heart monitor welcomed Takeru as his body stirred from a long slumber. It took longer than usual for him to lift his eyelids, which were heavy from disuse. The lights blinded him and forced his eyes shut again. When he tried to lift his body up, he felt surprisingly heavy.

His muscles screamed at him to rest as he struggled to rise. Over his chest, he could feel wires and other equipment he recognized as commonplace for hospital patients. What had happened to him? From the way his body felt, it was like he had not moved in years.

After a few minutes of jostling about on the bed, he decided to try a new tactic. Takeru felt around for the seat adjustment and quickly found purchase. It was an impressive feat considering his eyes still refused to adjust to the light. A low hum signaled the start of motors in the bed and his chest began to slowly elevate.

_Laying here is really pissing me off._

Apart from not remembering how he came to be in a hospital, Takeru had no idea what date it was. Was he still dreaming of another world? The lack of memory and his apparent bodily weakness frustrated him to no end.

Determined to see what was in the room, Takeru opened his eyes. They quickly began to water up as pain assaulted his irises, but he soldiered on. As he thought, his body was laying on a hospital bed. Near his bedside was an array of equipment used to monitor a patient's health. There were more than a few extra tubes running into him, which he found confusing for a moment, until he looked at his bare arm.

It looked closer to the bone beneath in shape, fragile and thin. How long had he been cooped up in the hospital? A shot of adrenaline ran through his heart as he began to contemplate just what terrible thing had happened to him.

That must have meant he had been unconscious for a while. A coma? The thought was baffling and more than a little frightening to contemplate. He never thought something like that could happen to him.

That was all the more reason for him to find out where he was and what the hell was going on. The memories were slowly trickling back to him that, some time in the past, he had traveled to a world very different from his own. Yuuko and the others were there, but rather than be civilians, they were soldiers and scientists. How long had it been since he had been there with them? The memories of that time were fleeting, and he struggled to grab onto something concrete.

Then, a single word flashed through his mind like lightning. It sent a chill down his spine as a tide of emotions followed the memory.

_Alternative V..._

The plan that led to humanity's destruction; the escape of a few humans into the stars while the rest remained behind to die. He could feel the desperation, frustration, and hatred that had taken over his mind when he first heard of it. What role he played and how he had survived, or if he was even still in that world: he did not know.

"Ghe..." Takeru struggled to move, escape from that prison.

His mind felt restless, attached to such a foreign body. He could feel his hair hugging the low part of his neck, unkempt from time passed. The weakness he felt was unfitting of the soldier he had turned into. The instinct and stubbornness from Instructor Jinguuji's training remained as his mind raced for a way to escape.

With great effort, he was able to pull his legs over the edge of the bed. It was as if they were more than just asleep; it was like he had to remember how to use them all over again. To steady himself, Takeru grabbed his IV stand. To minimize the damage, he ripped out wires he did not need that still adorned his chest and arm. The steady beat of the monitor went dead and shifted into one monotone sound.

_Good thing this has wheels, otherwise I wouldn't be going anywhere._

Takeru almost fell over when he shifted his weight onto the metal pole, but somehow he remained standing. The curtains that surrounded his bed prevented him from seeing the rest of the white tiled room, but he could tell he was alone.

A military hospital was rarely quiet unless a person were given a priority suite, though he found it odd. Considering the usual occupancy limits of a hospital, he wondered why someone like him in a coma would be given such an accommodation. They could have shifted him anywhere, but he was given the best service available? Another mystery to find the answer to, he supposed.

The curtains were edged out of the way to reveal he was indeed alone. Next to the exit that presumably led out into the rest of the hospital was another door he figured led to a private bathroom. Again, odd to give a coma patient such a furnishing when it would be wasted.

_Whatever, I need to find a calendar or something._

When he considered the very different setting to what he was used to, he was somewhat apprehensive to seek out a nurse or doctor. First, he wanted to have some idea of where he was, and _who_ he was. It was possible he was in a new loop or time period. Hell, the entire thing could have been setup by Yuuko as some sort of wild experiment in his old world.

The knot that was tightening in his stomach reminded him that none of that was particularly likely. The answer was probably a lot simpler, and uglier.

Takeru looked around to see if there was anything useful or indicative of what was going on. There did not appear to be any kind of the usual items found around a coma patient's bed. From the dramas he remembered watching, family and friends often left flowers and cards as a way to tell the person they still remembered. Apparently, no one cared enough to leave him any of that.

_Well, there might be a good explanation for it._

If he really had been out of commission for a while, like his body suggested, then the people who had been attending him might have stopped coming. If it happened in dramas, he had reason to believe it could happen to him. After all, his life had been anything but ordinary.

The entire room itself was quite bare, but he figured that was common enough for a military hospital. Functionality came before aesthetics, after all. Then again, what proof was there he was a member of the military? Considering his condition, it was impossible to prove whether he had the body of a soldier previous to being interned there.

The only way to find out was to leave the room, since there was nothing of use there. Despite his situation, anxiety crept into his stomach at the thought of leaving that quiet sanctuary. What would he find on the opposite end of that door? Would it be just like his house after he left it in the previous world; wrecked and abandoned? How would he survive if he left the safety of that place in his condition?

_I'm not going to just stand around and be weak anymore. I need answers, dammit._

Takeru heaved a sigh as he literally pushed against his body to reach the door. It was like climbing a mountain with only the muscles in your head: basically, it did not work. Without a clock to look at, he had no idea of the passage of time or how long it took him to reach the opposite end of the room, but it felt like an eternity.

With a shaky hand, he grasped the handle and pulled with all his strength. The door barely creaked an inch open, but Takeru refused to give up so easily. With a bit of work, he was able to wedge a wheel from the IV stand in the door frame, to prevent it from closing. Now with leverage, he worked the door open to the point he could squeeze through.

On the other side, he looked around to realize that the hospital was still functional and did not appear to be abandoned. Though there were no staff in plain sight, he could hear the faint echoes of conversations, clicks of shoes on the marble floor. As if moving around was not hard enough, the lights were even brighter out there than they were in his room and he struggled to keep his eyelids open. He spotted the nurse's station for the wing not far down the hall and decided it was the best place to go for information.

Getting there, he must have stumbled and paused more than a few times. Still no staff in sight, he was slightly worried. It was possible there was high traffic, but he could tell that particular wing was different than the others. All the rooms appeared to be private suites similar to his, which meant the floor was most likely for higher ranked officers, or even VIPs. If that were true, he had been expecting the staff to be more available.

The desk was kept relatively clean and nothing seemed particularly out of the ordinary. If anything, it was sparse in comparison to the usual decorations he remembered from the last hospital he visited in the _old_ world. It only brought more credibility to his theory.

_Jackpot!_

On the wall, Takeru spotted a very generic calendar that was already flipped open to a certain month. Many red x's symbolized the days that had passed, but he struggled to read the numbers. From his distance, he could tell they were close to the end of the month, but which one and what day he could not say. It was decided he had to get closer, and so he began to make his way into the back.

Unfortunately, luck was not on his side as the IV stand got stuck on a wall edge and tripped him over. Takeru fell to the ground, just barely saving his face from pain by landing on his elbows. The pain was almost unbearable as his nerves lit on fire; his mouth let loose a silent scream as he struggled to steady himself on all fours.

_Not..not yet. I can't stop now._

Ignoring the pain the best he could, Takeru picked himself up and used the wall as a guide and handhold. The thought of being so close to that information was enough fuel to push him forward. Closing the distance, he could start to make out the blurs into numbers and characters. His eyes focused on the current date, unmarked by red ink.

He could not help but gasp out loud at the revelation.

It was back to October 22nd, 2001. Had he really gone into another loop? What happened to him previous to that? Why did he not wake up in his room again? The thoughts made his head spin as Takeru struggled to try and keep up with himself.

An exclamation from behind made him quickly turn around. A female nurse had returned to her station and had found him on the floor, cut and bruised from the fall. His lack of decent clothing did not help the awkwardness Takeru felt as he returned her startled gaze with one of his own.

"Oh my goodness, Shirogane-sama! What are you doing out of-, this is a miracle!" He was stunned into inaction with her choice in dialogue.

_Shirogane-sama? This must be a dream, right? Who would humor me that much?_

"Please, we need to get you back to bed. Oh dear, the doctors need to see you. We have been waiting for so long; the Shogun has been waiting. I am sure she will be so pleased!"

The nurse knelt down and brought his arm around her shoulder. She must have figured if he had gotten that far, he could make it back to his room. Though he would have liked to do just that, his legs had lost all of their strength after the fall.

Luckily, the doctor in question seemed to pop around the corner at just the right moment. An older gentleman, he nonetheless paid Takeru the same respect as the nurse in how he addressed him. The two of them quickly got him back into bed and began to hook up the wires to his chest and arms. Complete with a new IV, it was almost as if he had not left the room after they finished tucking him in.

"Shirogane-sama, forgive our excitement. It is just that we had begun to fear you would not awaken. It has been so long..." The doctor said, shaking with barely masked glee.

Nearby, the nurse readied him a glass of water. Perfect timing, considering he had just realized how dry his throat was when he went to respond. She helped him take a long drink, refreshing his vocal chords with a cold gush of liquid.

After a moment, he finally came up with something to say. More specifically, he had something to ask.

"Doctor...what happened to me?"

The excitement faded from their faces as their fears seemed to be realized. He still had no memories of the events prior to him being placed in the hospital, nor of how he came to restart the loop. The sooner he found out, the sooner he could work on finding Yuuko-sensei. She would have the rest of the answers he needed, like always.

"Ah, it seems your memory has been taken as well," the doctor scribbled something onto his clipboard, the one that was attached to Takeru's bed. "With luck, it will return over time. For now though, perhaps it is best to start at the beginning. You will have to forgive me, but I'm not actually a part of the military, so I have only minor details of the events that brought you here."

The nurse offered Takeru another drink which he took without pause. Their kindness was not lost on him, and so he was more than understanding. If anything, he just wanted to have just the smallest idea of what was going on.

"Please doctor, I want to know."

With an affirmative hum, the doctor took a moment to recollect the details. When he looked again to Takeru, his face was grim.

"You should know that you have been here for almost two years. It was shortly after the offensive in 1999 _that you were a part of..._" The doctor's voice began to trail off as Takeru's mind glazed over.

_Two..two years? What the hell?! _

That did not make any sense. If it was the same world as before, he as a person had not existed until October 22nd, 2001. Well, that was not entirely true. If he remembered correctly, Tsukuyomi had said something about him being dead.

A flash of the woman appeared in his head; her aquamarine hair contrasted heavily with her red overcoat and black gloves. Even with her hostility she showed him before, he wished she was there to snap some sense into him.

So, if he was really alive two years ago, that must have meant that Tsukuyomi was mistaken. Either that, he swallowed hard, or he really was in a new world much different than the last one.

"Shirogane-sama?" Takeru shook his head a bit to wake himself up.

The doctor had noticed that he had lost track of the conversation and had stopped talking. The nurse looked at Takeru with a mix of sympathy and pity for his situation. He wondered how many other soldiers she had seen run into a similar brick wall.

"Go on doctor, you said something about an offensive? That means I was a soldier, right?" The older man shifted uncomfortably.

"In some form, yes you were. From what I hear, you accompanied the Shogun into battle. Of course, it might just be rumors that have spawned since then," him, accompanying the Shogun?

He struggled to remember the old world, as to whether he ever figured out the politics. It seemed he was just as stumped back then as he was currently. No significant memory clung to him, outside of a certain person. Meiya, she had been related to the government in the old world, like Sakaki. Apparently, she was a big deal, but why he struggled to remember the reason.

_Ah well. It might not relate, considering how different the world is._

"Somehow, during the battle, you suffered grievous wounds. They mostly centered around your cranial region, which we feared might cause lasting brain damage. You were lucky though," Considering the situation, the doctor quickly clarified the statement. "and by that I mean, lucky to survive with no lasting damage. Your amnesia may very well be a temporary side effect, so there is no need to worry yourself over it yet."

That was true enough. It was better than being dead, and he was not completely devoid of memories. Unfortunately, they were the wrong ones. The memories he had brought with him from the previous world had stayed, but that world's Takeru he must have to have joined with: their memories were indeed lost.

From what little he knew about amnesia, each case was suggested to work differently. Sometimes, the memories would come back fast. Other times, it would take weeks, months, even years; that was only after the person put all their effort into remembering. Rare cases had the person never fully recover.

"Doctor, is it..possible for me to recover my memories? Like through a trigger or something," Takeru asked, trying to get a handle on the situation the best he could.

With the forward thinking question, the doctor perked up a bit.

"Ah, yes. Almost anything could trigger a previous memory; familiar food, a place you often visited before the accident, even a conversation with a relative or friend. But, it will still only unlock bits and pieces. You may never remember the event that caused you to lose consciousness; our bodies often lock away the memories to prevent recurring trauma."

That sounded unfortunate, as he was genuinely curious about what he was doing at the time. Apparently, he had been a soldier, but who and what he was fighting with was a mystery. Only the faintest memories from the old world had any kind of aggressive connotation like fighting, and he doubted it was to the same scale as to what the doctor was describing.

The more answers he received, the less he could understand.

"Anyway, Shirogane-sama. For now, it is best that you continue to rest. We have already informed the necessary parties of your recovery, and with it came a quick response," the man's smile grew even wider. "The Shogun has said she will bless our presence by paying you a personal visit, tomorrow. Please, wait until then."

The Shogun was coming to see him? That took Takeru a moment to comprehend. Though he knew little of the government system of Japan in that world, he knew from history that the Shogun was an important figure in the military. For them to pay any attention to him must have meant he was a special case. That would explain why he was in that personal suite and being given such great care and respect.

All the same, why _him_? Takeru liked to joke around to boost his ego, but he really was not anyone special. It made no sense why he should receive that kind of attention.

Clearly, the Takeru from that world was someone that had done something important enough to get recognized by the government. Something like that should have made him smile, but his frown deepened in confusion.

_Wait. If all relevant parties were informed, then..._

"Excuse me, doctor. What about my parents?" In the previous world, they were long gone.

Considering the difference, perhaps there was a chance they were still alive. He could really use some advice from his father, and a bit of love from his mother could not hurt either. If anything, it would help him accept his new surroundings faster than if he were to remain alone.

To his discomfort, the doctor's smile disappeared after receiving the question. The man was clearly troubled, and it showed as he paused before his answer. His brows furrowed and he scratched the back of his neck nervously, a habit Takeru was intimately familiar with.

"Please, I need to know," clearly, he was not going to get the answer he hoped for.

"Yes. I am sorry to inform you that your father, Kageyuki Shirogane-sama, fell in the same battle that caused you to fall into a coma. Your mother, as I was told, was killed in the siege of Kyoto in 1998. My apologies, Shirogane-sama," both doctor and nurse bowed their heads in respect for his loss.

Though it hurt to hear directly, he had prepared himself for that. It was easier in the previous world, since he was thrust right into action after hearing his parents were gone. That time though, not only was he told they were dead, but he was told _how_. Despite himself, he could not help but imagine the scenarios that led to their demise.

He had to stop himself before tears came to his eyes. If he was really in a position of respect, then he probably should not show them his pain. That was something he would have to keep for himself.

"Th-thank you, doctor," Takeru croaked, suddenly drained of energy.

They quickly realized he was no longer in the mood to talk and dismissed themselves. The nurse informed him that there was a button he could press to summon them if he had any further needs. He merely nodded and stared at the end of his bed as they left quietly, talking between themselves about him, the Shogun, and what would come tomorrow.

With the blinds closed and his eyes adjusted to the light, he still had no idea what time of day it was. He could not help but want to close his eyes. If not to sleep and wait until tomorrow, to escape from his dreaded thoughts. Without anything better to do, his imagination would tear him apart with the unknown variables he was reeling from after talking to the doctor.

_Tomorrow..tomorrow I'll get some answers. If I have to, I'll ask the Shogun themselves._

* * *

The next day progressed about as smoothly as he figured. The nurses were constantly checking up on him; both new and old faces had come to see the soldier that had woken from a two year coma. The mood seemed anxious as word had spread that the Shogun was coming, so everyone was trying to look their best. For a moment, he wondered if he could get some normal clothes to be presentable.

Even if they had some to spare, he doubted he would be able to get into them. It was not like he was going anywhere any time soon, anyway. Some of his strength had returned since yesterday, enough to lift his arms and legs on his own, but his stamina was gone. The doctor had already mentioned therapy to restore functionality in his limbs, and since he had already willed his body to move, the prospects were good for a quick recovery.

Since the nurses began to visit less frequently, he used it as a figure of time passed. The Shogun's arrival must have been fast approaching. When the sounds from outside began to quiet down, he knew things were about to kick off. As pitiful as it was, Takeru did his best to be ready for their arrival. The back of the bed was raised up so he could at least meet their eyes with some semblance of equality.

His heart shot into his throat as the door opened again. It was different that time, as it did not swing shut immediately. The click clack of many heels and boots could be heard as more than one person entered his domain. The curtains were closed, so he could not see what was going on, but a conversation was just tapering off as they approached.

"...keep in mind, Yuuhi-sama, that it is highly unlikely he will remember you."

That voice, it cut through him like a blade. It took him all he had to hold back from joining in the conversation.

_Mana-san! Tsukuyomi is here!_

If she was anything like the Tsukuyomi from the previous world, they probably were not on good terms. Even if he was lucky enough to be closer than that, it would look odd if he remembered her and forgot everyone else. He would have to be careful how he responded to their presence.

"I have prepared for that contingency, Mana-san. Thank you for your concern."

The person named "Yuuhi" responded. The name did not ring any bells, but that voice; he would recognize that dignified, royal speech from anywhere.

_Meiya._

"Doctor, are you certain he is awake? I do not wish to disturb his slumber," The usual Meiya: always thinking of everyone else before herself.

His doctor somehow stumbled out a reply after a short pause. It must have been difficult for him in the presence of royalty to speak.

"Yes, your Highness. The nurses have been checking on him often. They have said his strength has returned after resting last night."

Ironic he would gain his strength back from ten hours of sleep after finishing up two years of the same treatment. He could not deny he was feeling better though. That strength was something he would need, he figured, to keep up a conversation with the Shogun herself. If it really was Meiya, it might not be so uncomfortable.

"Allow us, Yuuhi-sama," together, a trio of voices called out as a shadow approached his curtain.

_The three idiots are still trailing behind Mana-san. _

Somehow, their presence made him feel more comfortable. Perhaps things were not so different after all.

"There is no need. I can do this much on my own," Meiya as always did things her own way.

In the previous world, she would never accept Mana's help, though she rarely refused her requests. It made sense that they would go that far though, as her bodyguards.

The pale green cloth was pulled away and not but a few feet from him was a familiar face. Meiya stood there, her ocean blue eyes gazing upon his lithe figure with immediate concern. Seeing her like that warmed his chest; someone familiar, someone he knew was alive and well. It was like he was finally anchored to something.

"Mei-" Takeru paused before he could finish calling out to her.

He was not worried about revealing his memories. If anything, the people around him would be fooled into relief if he started to recognize them. No, he was concerned about how to speak to his old friend. In the old world, he was scolded for being so overly familiar after meeting them for the "first" time. Since Meiya was apparently the Shogun, it would turn out badly if he called out to her with such a familiar tone.

Not only that, but Meiya's appearance was different than what he was used to. As someone in her high position, she was in an (appropriate) formal business attire; a leather brown colored blouse with a matching knee skirt and pantyhose. It was her hair and other small details that had changed from the last time he had seen her. Her hair had been dyed a deep purple and styled with sharper bangs; her bun style and ponytail had been done up differently, in a more intricate fashion.

If he did not know better, she would pass off as a familiar, yet distinctly different person. It would explain why she was not referred to as Meiya, but rather 'Yuuhi'. From the old world, he did not know of any person by that name, so he could only guess that that person was somehow related to Meiya. That might have had something to do with why she was the Shogun in that world, in comparison to the previous one where she was merely a relative.

Takeru soon realized that his pause had made her uncomfortable, and he tried to get his thoughts together.

"Take..ru..." She mumbled out, her hands wringing each other in apprehension. She was unsure, nervous from his lack of response.

He was taken aback by how she referred to him so closely. So, they must have known each other in that world after all. It made sense, and it also made his response easier.

"Yu-Yuuhi-sama," He finally got it out.

Her expression shifted between many emotions within the span of a few moments. From her initial worry, she was overjoyed to hear his response and smiled. After a moment, that smile faltered for some reason. Perhaps he had been too formal?

It did not matter as she took another step forward, bringing them even closer. Her arms wrapped around his frail neck, and he could feel wetness in her eyes. Hidden from the others, she could let her emotions free for a moment. She made no sound to reveal her sobs, but it was not hard to tell with the way her body heaved that she was barely holding back.

The doctor quietly excused himself as the door opened and shut. Takeru could not see past Meiya, but he knew only the honor guard remained. With that privacy, Meiya's cries became louder as she tried to steady herself to no avail. It seemed his absence for two years had been harsh on her. It sort of made him happy to know she thought of him so much.

"Yuuhi-sama, please sit down. You may smother him at this rate," Tsukuyomi said quietly, not wishing to overstep her bounds.

Jolted by that possibility, Meiya quickly pulled herself from him and backed away. They seemed to be underestimating his body; he would not die that easily. Still, it was hard for him to react when she threw herself on him like that. He still had no idea how to behave in front of her.

"My apologies, Takeru. I did not mean to...it has simply been a long while since I have seen you. Awake, that is," Meiya stumbled out an apology, which felt very odd considering her position of power.

It was endearing though, and he had to bite back a smirk. With the chair brought over by Tsukuyomi, Meiya sat down next to his bedside.

"No, don't concern yourself with it, your Highness," it was awkward for him to speak so formally, and it seemed to show.

Tsukuyomi, the three girls behind her, and even Meiya seemed to frown at his attempt. Perhaps his formal Japanese was that bad. For some reason, it felt like he was missing something.

"Takeru, do you remember anything? Do you recognize...any of us?" Perhaps the way he was acting was not as appropriate as he believed.

They thought his memory was still damaged. If he wanted to relieve them of worry, he had to at least be honest about what he knew.

"Yes, I do know you," He turned to Tsukuyomi and her subordinates. "Tsukuyomi-san, Ebisu, Tomoe, Kamiyo. That is you, right?"

The four of them lightened up significantly after he recounted their names perfectly. As if a weight had been lifted from their shoulders, they relaxed in his presence somewhat. Then, all four bowed their heads low.

"We are glad to see your memory of us has not been lost, Takeru-sama."

"Your humble servants welcome your return, Shirogane-sama!"

That was an unexpected response, but it only confirmed that he still had a lot to learn about the differences between worlds. Apparently, he held a place of respect with them he did not have previously. It made him feel nostalgic about the world he was originally from, where they were humble maids serving Meiya. Though a small comfort, and an awkward one that he could not immediately respond to, he was still pleased to hear it.

He turned to Meiya, whose shoulders sagged in relief with his response. Since he had already called out to her, she knew he at least remembered her. Takeru wondered if he should try to say something else to calm her nerves.

"To be honest, you look a little different than I remember. Your hair in particular..." Meiya's brow furrowed as she unconsciously stroked her purple bangs.

Mana frowned, but remained quiet. It seemed she understood his concern, to some capacity.

"Perhaps some memory of the past still remains in you after all, Takeru," Meiya smiled, though it felt hollow. "Unfortunately, that conversation will have to be at a later time. There are many unwelcome ears here."

Meiya held that information close to her chest. If there was an explanation as to why she was in that kind of position, he figured it was something classified. Not something a person started to talk about in an open place like that.

"I understand," he had no choice but to wait for later.

Something still bothered him though, and it must have showed. Meiya noticed his nervous tick as he scratched the back of his neck.

"Takeru, is there something wrong?"

_Well, I did wait all this time for something._

"I have something to ask," He gripped his bed sheets, unsure of how to proceed. "There is a lot I don't remember, so bear with me."

Meiya instinctively leaned forward and took his hand into her own. The move was intimate and it made it even more difficult for him to speak.

"There is no need to hold back, Takeru. Please, if I may help, tell me what ails you," She pleaded, eager to answer his questions.

Takeru swallowed the lump in his throat and tried to formulate a question. There were so many he wanted to ask, but one in particular stood out. It would tell him the difference between worlds with certainty depending on how she answered.

"What happened to Yokohama?" As soon as he uttered the location, Meiya seized up in what he could only assume was sheer terror.

The grasp around his hand tightened to that of a vice grip, and he could not help but groan in pain. Her eyes had grown two sizes larger, with dilated pupils that danced about. Was she remembering something painful?

Mana stepped forward and quickly separated their hands. From the bodyguard's behavior, it suggested she had seen something similar happen before. An arm wrapped itself around the young girl's neck, bringing her to Tsukuyomi's bosom. Instinctively, the girl held onto her sleeve for dear life.

The older woman began to carefully pet the Shogun's head in a consistent, calming motion.

Takeru did not know what to say. He did not mean for her to be harmed by his question. Given her response, he could only guess that something terrible had happened that did not occur to the Meiya from the previous world. If those rumors were true, that in the battle he had fallen, and that the Shogun had been there...

Was Meiya remembering the way he suffered his wounds? It was unlikely, but given their close relationship, it was not a stretch to think she would be concerned about something like that.

"My apologies, Takeru-sama. I fear Yuuhi-sama has still not fully recovered from that day. It may go without saying, but do not speak of it with her further. For the sake of her Highness's health," Mana told him as she continued to comfort the distraught girl.

It was very humbling to see the Shogun revert into something very familiar, something very human. For her to show that weakness, it must have been tough to keep up a leader's facade. It was not so bad to show it in front of him, since they were close, but what if the same question had been asked by someone else? Meiya would not have been able to afford to respond the same way.

"Right..." He could not take his eyes off of her. It hurt to see her like that.

"I will answer you though, as I too was present in the battle. If you do not remember, it was referred to as Operation Lucifer by both the Japanese and UN military. Our objective was to capture Yokohama hive."

Mana's gaze drifted back to Meiya, who had barely improved. The buzz words embedded in the explanation probably were not helping her condition either, but there was little they could do. For some reason, Tsukuyomi felt it important enough for him to know the truth.

"Yuuhi-sama had been the Shogun for less than a year, and already she was put in the position to approve or deny the largest military counter attack in human history. Of course, she could not refuse. Not only that, but her fiery spirit to protect the people of Japan led her to take to the field herself. And so, we of the honor guard were duty bound to follow."

Takeru knew very little of the events that took place that led to the Yokohama base's construction, but it seemed as though the Shogun's presence was not something that had happened in the previous world. He had no proof, but he felt like something that extraordinary would have reached his usually daft ears.

"Though I won't go into needless detail, the battle did not go as we planned. The Americans broke their promise to the Japanese and UN forces and intervened, making use of experimental weaponry that inflicted untold destruction on the landscape. Yuuhi-sama and our unit were deep in the enemy line when the report came to retreat to safety, and few of us survived as a result."

That sounded incredibly harsh. From a certain perspective, the Americans were right to want to test and use such weapons against the BETA, but to use it where it would threaten allied forces? Had they gone mad? It sounded like such a waste of resources, a waste of life.

"You..." Mana hesitated, her grip around Meiya's neck unconsciously tightened. "were one of the casualties that day. Your Zuikaku barely held together long enough for you to escape the blast radius. Had it been a lesser machine, you would have surely..." She paused again, and refused to finish that sentence in a certain someone's presence.

Takeru understood it very clearly, though it only bothered him further. Zuikaku? He did not remember such a machine in the previous world. Obviously it was something employed by the Japanese military and not the UN, but it frustrated him not knowing. It might have given him a hint as to what kind of person he was in that world.

"Thank you for telling me, Tsukuyomi-san," He could tell it was hard even for her to recall those events.

"Do not concern yourself with me, Takeru-sama. It is Yuuhi-sama and you we must think of. Surely, though your memory is damaged, you would not want to recall a time where you lost so much."

That was true. If he had a better grasp on the situation, dredging up that time would not be something enjoyable for him. After all, it was thanks to Lucifer that he fell into a coma and his father died. It was not exactly a good day.

They remained silent for a short while. Takeru had to gather his thoughts, and Mana still tended to the reeling Meiya. Perhaps it was a good thing he could not recall all of that world's Takeru's memories, lest he react in a similar fashion as the Shogun. Though he was the one in the hospital bed, it felt more appropriate for him to try and support her rather than the other way around.

Finally, the young girl gently pushed Mana away and recovered herself. Despite her attempt to act as though she were fine, it was clear she was not. The strength she emanated in all the worlds he had met her was missing, void from her body. Clearly, something had to have broken inside to hurt her so badly.

Without that determination, Meiya simply was not _Meiya_.

"I apologize for such a shameful display, Takeru. It should have been me to answer you, it is just-"

"Don't worry. I understand," Takeru smiled, trying his best to relieve her concerns.

"No, for something like this I must explain," For Meiya, she could not leave a conversation unfinished; it was not in her nature to avoid problems.

"Yuuhi-sama, please-"

"Please be quiet!"

Tsukuyomi had stepped forward, only to be reproached with a hard tone. She quickly stepped back, reeling from the figurative slap. It was rare to see Meiya act like that.

"My apologies, your Highness."

After her outburst, Meiya quickly sank back into her seat. Regret enveloped her.

"No, the fault is mine. I should not have acted so childishly."

They seemed to still share their close relationship, and for that Takeru was glad. He was sure Meiya appreciated Mana's presence considering the pressures of her job. For better or worse, Mana's instructions had shaped Meiya's personality in his original world, and he figured it was the same there.

"Perhaps it is best to save it for another day. We will have plenty of time to talk in the future if things go well," Meiya said, a genuine grin adorned her face as she told him that.

"Your Highness, it is almost time for your next appointment," Kamiyo warned as their conversation seemed to draw to a close.

"It feels as though we have only begun," a small sigh came out as Meiya's shoulders slouched in defeat. "But, it appears I must leave you again so soon."

"Don't worry, I can handle myself," a little bit of his usual speech patterns came out as Takeru tried to respond casually.

Surprisingly, the Shogun sighed in relief. It was implied that his response was a favorable one.

"I am glad you have not forgotten how to speak informally when around me. It is quite...relieving," she stood from her chair and grasped his hand again.

"Takeru, tomorrow I shall send someone to retrieve you. I have already spoken with the doctors, and we have come to the agreement it will be best for your health if the rest of your recovery is spent at home. You will surely enjoy the familiarity of the palace grounds over this place, though the hospital staff did an admirable job."

Return home? Did she mean where he lived in that world? That sounded a bit extravagant to describe it as a palace.

"That sounds..nice. I wouldn't mind getting some fresh air," Meiya's grip tightened before she let go.

She seemed quite relieved with his answer. It was as if she had been working herself up to that moment to hear his response.

"Then we are in agreement. I will eagerly await your return tomorrow. Until then, goodbye, Takeru," Meiya offered him one last glance before she exited the room with the guards following behind.

Tsukuyomi was the last one to leave, and Takeru could not help but call out to her. There was still one part of the puzzle that was not clicking in his mind. His relationship to Meiya, the respect everyone was giving him; it seemed to come from nowhere. Until he had an answer for that, he would continue to feel lost.

"Tsukuyomi-san! Wait a moment," Whether it be out of respect or something more, the woman immediately turned and waited patiently for his question.

"I'm sorry for not remembering much, but there is something important I still can't recall. I must have been in the military, right? What position was I in? How...is my relationship with the Shogun? I feel like we are closer than most."

Tsukuyomi seemed to consider his words for a moment. It was a loaded question, and perhaps it was overstepping her bounds to answer. Still, he had to know.

"You will understand if I do not indulge you considering your relationship to Yuuhi-sama, for that is something for her alone to answer. As for your position, it would be more accurate to describe your 'status'. You must have found it odd for commoners and soldiers alike to refer to you with such acknowledgement."

Mana nailed his concerns right on the head. Their attempts to show respect were difficult to reciprocate when he had never been in such a position before. Not only that, but without context he did not understand why they acted the way they did.

"To put it simply, you are a member of the Imperial Royal Guard. More specifically, your family are vassals to the Mitsurugi, the current ruling regent house of the Shogunate. That affords you a high position that few can claim to own, which is why you receive such respect."

That information overwhelmed Takeru as he struggled to comprehend it. Sure, he remembered excelling at the piloting simulators in the old world, and his performance inside a TSF was above average for a cadet. But to suddenly hear that he was a member of the same organization as Tsukuyomi, whose presence alone was enough to send chills down his spine, was too much to believe.

"So, you are telling me that you and I are the same rank?" If it were from anyone else, he would consider it a joke.

"Not at all, Takeru-sama," Mana shook her head, her face showing no signs of foul play. "Though we are both the same rank of first lieutenant, I am merely a member of her Highness's security unit. As a member of the 'fudai', you are a person of higher status."

The whole idea of being a member of the same group as Tsukuyomi, who in the other world had been ruthlessly hunting him, was overwhelming enough. To hear that he had already surpassed recruit and had gone onto become a commissioned officer? That was impossible to imagine.

But, it must have been true. It was probably a grave offense to lie to someone of his stature, as egotistical as it sounded. What would she have to gain from abusing that trust?

"My apologies Takeru-sama, but I must go," Mana turned to leave, but hesitated at the door. "Please remember this, Takeru-sama. Though it has been two years, Meiya-sama is still vulnerable. The recovery of your health and memories does not affect only you."

Takeru was not sure what Tsukuyomi meant by that, and so he continued to ponder it as she quietly excused herself. By mentioning Meiya's real name, she no doubt had hoped to spark a memory or relay some piece of information to him. Though the girl's title had changed since the last time they were together, her real name had not. That brought him some small comfort.

At least it confirmed that he could get away with calling Meiya by the name he was used to, when they were alone at least.

As for the rest of what Tsukuyomi said, he already knew that he had to get better and fast. Regardless of what world he was in, it was clear that they were still in danger. It was not just the BETA, but Alternative V was still a potential event that could happen if they were still in the start of the loop. That all compounded on the frustration of being thrust into another world, similar yet different to the one he was in last.

For his own sake and for the worlds that were relying on him, he could not just sit and do nothing. If he really was going to be stuck in that world, then he would have to give his all to try and save it. If what Tsukuyomi said was true, then he had a solid foundation to make a difference with. His rank and his position with the Shogun meant he could actually get something done, if he was smart about it.

_This is all a little too much for one day._

Takeru's head felt like it was on a swivel trying to consider all the possibilities and future scenarios. It could wait another day, until he got more rest. Tomorrow, he would be headed home, and presumably he would see Meiya and Mana again.

When that happened, he would find an answer for how to survive in the new world.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Muv Luv.**


	2. The Return of Strength

_Muv Luv: Provenance_

* * *

_Stars lit up the night sky. There was only one spot he could think of that could have the perfect view. He could not keep it to himself, so he decided to invite someone special along._

_At the hill, behind his old school, Takeru Shirogane celebrated Christmas. It was a bittersweet holiday, after the base commander had told them of their failure: Alternative IV's failure. For a while, he could not think of anything else but his frustration at the betrayal they had suffered._

_That thought was for another day though, because at that moment, he could not think of anyone else but the girl beside him._

_Meiya Mitsurugi, her hand clasped with his, gazed upon the stars that night with melancholy. Her promise to the people; to her squad; to herself had been broken without her consent. With their defeat, how could they call themselves protectors of humanity? Meiya found it difficult to cope with that kind of weakness._

_Fortunately, Takeru took care of it for her as his arms wrapped around her body._

_He leaned in close, his breath tickling her lips. Meiya sighed in satisfaction; for once in her life, she forgot about her duties. For once, she allowed herself to indulge in the pleasure of physical contact._

_As long as he was there with her, she would find a way to live in that world. Meiya would forge a path ahead with her own two hands, if it was for him._

* * *

Takeru woke up in a fit, his chest heaving. He could not help but grab hold of himself to try and calm his beating heart. Was that dream real? Had he and Meiya, in the other world, really gotten that close...

The dreams were getting more and more vivid. Before, he had dreamed of his original world during his stay in the last loop. After a while, those dreams had begun to taper off until he stopped having them altogether. When they first started though, he had felt a similar sensation; it was as if he was really living in that illusion.

It had been so long, and the dream's contents had gotten so intense, he could not handle it.

_Meiya..._

A knock on the door brought him back to the world as it was. Someone entered, their steps heavy and full of purpose. Was it the next day already? He looked himself over, ashamed of the truth he was forced to live with.

His body still lay in a hospital bed, weak from disuse. Takeru's face and hair were gaunt and unkempt from years of neglect. There was nothing left of what made him a soldier from the old world, except for that determination to see his duty through to the end. To make up for that failure; to stop everyone's tears from falling; to return to his own world, he would do anything.

With that body though, what could he accomplish?

"Excuse me," without pause, the curtains were torn away to reveal an eerily familiar person.

Takeru was taken aback by how forward they were. It was only after he took a moment to study them that he realized there was something more unsettling to their arrival. Had they not already seen each other at the meeting before? Was she the one sent to pick him up?

"Tsukuyomi-san?"

It could not be the same person. She looked so...different.

"Yes, Takeru-sama. I have come to return you to your proper place."

She answered with a solid affirmative, confusing him further. Was it really Mana in front of him? Her hair was a deep turquoise, and attached to her nose was a pair of wide, rimless glasses. There was no doubt the person in front of him was an impostor, or failing that, a close relative of the woman he was familiar with.

"Sorry, I had you confused with someone else. I thought you were Mana Tsukuyomi," he paused, looking her over again. "You share a resemblance."

They even wore the same uniform: color and all. How was he not supposed to confuse them upon first meeting? Her mannerisms seemed more direct, confrontational than Mana's. Did that world's Takeru have a relationship with her too?

The woman, unabated by his lack of memory, pulled the bed sheets back and gently pulled his legs free from underneath. Without the strength to argue, he could do nothing but watch as she slowly freed him from the bed, and the hospital machinery soon followed.

"Takeru-sama, I was informed you had lost a significant portion of your memory. It pains me to have to reintroduce myself after knowing you for so long, but I will do so to ensure you remain comfortable."

Without missing a beat, she absolved his concerns with a concise answer. Gently, she pulled him forward in the bed, ushering his legs over the side and onto the floor. She was clearly not messing around as Takeru realized she planned to have him walk right out of the building!

_This woman, did Meiya really send her?!_

"Eh, uh-"

"Maya, Maya Tsukuyomi. Mana is my cousin, so I will forgive your confusion."

His pause was quickly interrupted as she finally introduced herself as a relative of Mana. It was pretty obvious, but it relieved him a bit to know who the person was. Apart from appearances, Maya was acting like her cousin too. If anything, she was more honest about what she was thinking. He had not missed those subtle jabs at his confusion of her identity.

Maya had stopped Takeru at the edge of the bed. She approached a nearby bag on the table, presumably her own. It was obvious she was a person that became very focused on a single task; it felt like it was impossible for him to trip her up with any of his questions or pauses.

Takeru doubted she was in the mood to talk but he was more than curious about what her plans were.

"Tsukuyomi-san, can I ask what you are doing?"

There was a pause as she seemed to find what she was looking for. Her arms stopped moving and slowly began to pull something out of the sack. It must have been fragile or easy to disturb as she did not rush the process.

When whatever it was became free, she turned to face him with it in her hands. He looked it over and quickly caught onto what it was, though he had never seen one like it before. In the previous world, he had only seen it in red or white, and so he wrongfully assumed that they were the only colors available.

"Here it is Takeru-sama, your uniform. We have been maintaining it for just this occasion."

A splendid golden yellow overcoat was accompanied by a matching black undershirt and pants. Laid carefully atop the clothing was a pair of black socks with a large pair of what looked like boots. They were shined perfectly, as even the smallest crevice in the footwear reflected the fluorescent lights above. It was something he never thought to see in person, let alone wear.

"This is my...original?" he asked, his voice wavering in disbelief.

With the quality of the material, it was unbelievable to think something like that was at least two years old. Either Maya was lying and it was made brand new, or they really were dedicated in their maintenance.

"Of course, Takeru-sama. It would be less than appropriate to allow a uniform such as yours, that was already in pristine condition, to go to waste," she said matter-of-factly as she laid the outfit down on the bed next to him.

"Tsukuyomi-san-"

"Please, call me Maya. Formality has not stopped you before. Besides, it will be easier to tell my cousin and I apart that way."

Her logic was impeccable, so he quickly conceded. It would do no good to argue with her anyway, since she had not made a single concession the entire time she was there.

"Maya-san, how do you plan for me to put this on? I'm still-"

"I will assist you, of course. There is no reason to be ashamed. In your condition, it is amazing you were able to move so quickly after waking up. Dressing should be simple in comparison."

_I should just stop talking. She seems to have an answer to every complaint I have._

With her help, he stripped off his gown and began to dress himself with the undergarments provided. It was embarrassing, but it was no worse than the times they were forced to get used to fortified suits. Perhaps his training had not worn off after all that time, after all.

With the black pants and shirt on, Maya inspected him for a moment before clicking her tongue. Her hands moved to his neck when he thought for a moment she was going to try and strangle him. Rather, her tight grip was used to pull on the tight neck collar portion of the shirt, where a green upside down triangle symbol was out of place.

"It has been some time since you last tried, so I will have to remind you of the proper etiquette and protocol to follow when wearing your uniform, Takeru-sama. You must always ensure your collar is on straight; the lowest point of the triangle must be pointed directly at the ground, with the entire collar perfectly aligned with your lower throat."

Takeru unconsciously swallowed. He could already tell wearing his "cool" uniform was going to turn into a chore.

_So much for fun._

"Next, we will put on your boots. The overcoat is best put on while standing."

At the very least, he could handle that part and took the socks from Maya's hands. He had no doubt she would have done it for him, but the embarrassment was already too great. The boots themselves were a bit tougher to fit on considering their tightness, and the problem was exacerbated by his limited control over his legs. Takeru's frustrations mounted as he struggled to fit the first boot onto his left foot.

Maya had stepped back to give him space, but her respect for his individualism only lasted so long. In one swift move, she was in front of him with one hand locked on the heel of the boot, the other behind his knee. With one solid push, the leather slid up his leg and rested just below the kneecap: a perfect fit. Maya quickly did the same with the other boot, eliciting no resistance from the already exhausted Takeru.

"Please stand, Takeru-sama," with his hands on the bed to steady himself, the young soldier pushed his body up.

For a moment, he was standing perfectly straight. His heart raced in excitement at the thought of how much progress he had made to be standing just like everyone else. The boots gave him an extra inch or two, and the enhanced view was quite exciting considering what he had been limited to in the bed.

Then, his legs gave out from under him. His arms flailed as he lost balance in a futile attempt to find something to grab onto. Pain was sure to follow his fall, so he braced.

A gloved hand clasped itself around his elbow and held on tight, stopping his momentum. When he opened his eyes, Maya was in front of him with her arms wrapped around him. She had quick reflexes to be able to grab him like that.

His face flushed with heat as he realized what a sad sight he must have been. What kind of a man fell over with such little grace?

Maya, on the other hand, had not lost her composure in the slightest. Her face was still the same chiseled calm he had come to expect in the short time they had gotten acquainted.

"Hold onto me, Takeru-sama," careful not to wrinkle her uniform, he did as instructed by grabbing onto her shoulder.

With one hand, she deftly grabbed his overcoat and pulled it to his shoulder. His free hand quietly slipped in and appeared at the end of the sleeve. They quickly switched sides and followed the same procedure. Maya grabbed both sides of the coat and straightened them out with a solid tug.

Takeru could not take his eyes off of hers; they were so focused, unwavering. He was envious of that.

"As you can see, the coat comes in two pieces: the sleeves and the inner coat, and then the front chest and lower cloth are attached separately with these pin locks," Maya explained in a clear, concise manner as she readied the second chestpiece.

The four black pins easily clicked into place, covering his undershirt with more of the golden cloth. The inner part of his coat was lined with a purple satin. The same shade of violet could be found on the symbols that decorated his sleeves, and ran down to the bottom of the long cloth that covered his front.

"There are two additional pins that go around your waist, but before that, it is best to put on your belt," she procured a long, wide black strap that would hold his inner coat tight to his body.

It easily went on, the lock hidden beneath the over layer of the coat. What Takeru had not realized was that the first piece of the coat that included the sleeves also extended over his lower legs. Two large portions were cut along his outer thighs, but his knees and inner legs were completely wrapped in the gold material.

The most complicated outfits in his old world might have been a western tuxedo for a wedding. That uniform took preparation to another level; they must have been going for fifteen minutes.

"Lastly, the two pins around the waist hold down the lower part of your front robe to prevent it from getting too much in the way," they too locked in with a satisfying click.

Finally, it seemed as though the preparations were over. He looked himself over and could not believe that he was actually wearing something so extravagant. It seemed too unreal, like he really was living in someone else's body. Takeru held his arms up close and studied the sleeves; he caressed the soft texture that lined the cuffs in reverence.

"Ah," an exclamation made him check to see Maya retrieving something else from the bag.

From inside, she grabbed two matte black gloves. They were smooth, sharp pieces that added to the overall ensemble with a particularly intimidating streak. With those on, a person seemed to emanate power.

"Here are your gloves. Tuck them in under your undershirt sleeves," he was allowed to do that much on his own, and finally he was in a complete set.

"Wow..."

"As expected, Takeru-sama. It is like it was two years ago, nothing has changed."

Just wearing the uniform gave him a burst of energy. It made him want to try and walk on his own, even if he knew it would be impossible in his condition.

That brought him back to reality. How exactly was he going to leave the room on his own?

"So what now?" he inquired.

"We walk," she said with a straight face; not even a shift in tone.

Takeru's eyes grew as her arm wrapped around his waist and the other looped his hand over her shoulder. Was she serious?

"Maya-san, how am I supposed to do-" before his worries could be transmitted, she cut him off.

Her gaze cut right through him, but her words were quick to mend the damage.

"Yuuhi-sama entrusted me with this mission, but I planned to volunteer regardless. As your subordinate, I knew you would find it embarrassing to leave in those hospital gowns, lying down in a bed like a child. Allow me to support you to the car, Takeru-sama."

The strength behind her words, and the conviction in her duty to support him was overwhelming. So much so, that he felt his legs unconsciously take the first step forward as they began to walk out of the room.

When they exited, most of the nurse staff and his doctor were waiting. When they saw him fully dressed and walking, they gasped with barely reserved concern. The Shogun had surely promised he would be resting for his treatment, so to see him straining his body, the hospital probably was not going to be happy about that.

"Shirogane-sama, you mustn't strain yourself!"

"Please, get back into your bed and allow us to wheel you out."

A few nurses tried to approach him to do just that, but Maya's glare sent them reeling. She turned them so her body stood between them and Takeru.

"Silence. As a member of the Imperial Royal Guard, do you think he would accept help for such a minor shortness of breath? His strength would allow him to run without stop had he not been stuck in that bed for so long."

There was little they could do in response. Even if they wanted to contend her point, given her position and rank they could do nothing but watch their patient go in such a condition. Takeru wished she would have been more lenient, but he was too focused on taking one step at a time to say anything.

It was a silent struggle through the halls before they made use of the elevators to comfortably reach the first floor where their transportation waited. Maya had to pause a few times to better shift his weight onto her body, but she showed no signs of discomfort and made not a sound of complaint.

_Strong..._

A blast of fresh air washed over his face and assaulted his nostrils as they exited the glass doors of the hospital. Outside, a small plaza garden welcomed them as it sat behind the drop-off area they were headed to. Dying leaves steadily fell to the ground in ones, twos, and threes: Fall had settled in.

The openness of the outside made him feel much better than inside the building, but the unfamiliar surroundings still made him uncomfortable. When his eyes finally came back to the direction they were walking, he was unable to comprehend what he was looking at.

It looked like at least a dozen people were standing around a few vintage cars he would expect to find in a museum rather than out on the road. What surprised him though were the uniforms; more Guardsmen, but they wore the garb of white and gray.

From what few interactions he had observed before, the white uniforms were lower ranked than the reds, which meant they were lower than him as well. The grays though, he was unsure of how to treat them. The answer came quickly as all of them saluted his arrival.

"Welcome back, Shirogane-sama!" the men and women bowed their heads in greeting.

The weight behind it struck him with full force, as he was still not used to such shows of deference. There was a pause as he tried to figure out the best way to respond. Luckily, Maya had something prepared.

"There will be time for greetings later. Takeru-sama still needs to rest, so quickly prepare the cars," they saluted and quickly hopped to the task.

Car doors were opened and the vehicles were started in a hurry. The middle car had its rear doors left open and one Guardsman, a young woman with violet hair tucked into a top knot ponytail, waited by the side. Boots stomped on the pavement as they made their way over.

"Please rest easy, Shirogane-sama. We will ensure your safe return to Tokyo," the woman saluted again, a bold smile splayed across her face.

Takeru struggled to return the gesture as he reached out to use the car door and roof as handholds. It would be difficult to pull off without them figuring out he was completely unable to walk, but he figured he could finagle his way into the back without too much suspicion.

"I'll be in your care, then," he responded with a clumsy smile as he focused on the task in front of him.

_How best to angle this...Owa!_

All his carefully laid plans were put to a quick rest as Maya subtly pushed him into the rear of the vehicle. He painfully slid over to the side as Maya took a seat next to him. The door was shut and the female soldier got into the passenger seat; the driver was already waiting for the go ahead.

Maya made a hand gesture and the driver in front nodded in assent. The guard did a similar gesture to the car in front and the car in the back through the windshield. With a bit of a jolt forward, the convoy began to move.

With them on the road, Maya pressed a button on her door's armrest and raised the window between the back and front seat. Takeru was impressed, as he had only seen stuff like that in limousines in the old world. He wondered what she had to say that required the privacy.

Maya turned to him, adjusting her glasses back up against the bridge of her nose. Her eyes seemed to search him for something before she opened her mouth.

"You have something you wish to ask, Takeru-sama?"

Hm, he wondered where she came up with that idea. Of course, he had plenty of questions still in the wings, but none immediately came to mind that he thought appropriate to ask.

Noting his confusion, she clarified.

"You seemed confused at the presence of these men. Do you not recognize them?"

Ah, she must have seen his reaction and realized something was off. It was true that he did not know who any of them were, but he had assumed they were just more soldiers sent by Meiya. Was he wrong?

"Should I know them? I thought they were sent by the Shogun..."

Maya looked at him for a moment, her gaze impossible to decipher. Was it pity or disappointment she seemed to be relaying to him through the uncomfortable curve of her lip? The sharpness of her eyes softened as she seemed to remember something.

"Your memory is damaged, of course it might be difficult for you to remember."

That excuse was starting to get worn down. Every time it was brought up, he felt another nail get hammered in his chest. He felt terrible that he could not give the people the acknowledgement they deserved.

"These men and women were not directly requested by the Shogun to come: they volunteered. Can you guess why?"

She did not give him much time to answer, though he had no idea what to say anyway. How was he supposed to know?

"They are your subordinates, as am I. We are all members of the _Golden Dragons, _17th Guards Squadron, 2nd Regiment."

There was no time for that fact to sink in as she said the next, supposedly obvious portion. To Takeru, it was an immediate shot of adrenaline to his heart.

"You are the squadron leader, our _commanding officer,_" that last bit, though she said just the same as she said everything else, echoed in his mind the longest.

To have command over someone else, nay multiple people; it felt too surreal. He did not even know what kind of orders to give or what the proper procedure was. The entire time he had interacted with anyone in that world, he had been winging it with what he had picked up from dramas and from speaking with the few kids who ever tried treating him with respect.

That was not going to cut it anymore. The reminder that he was a first lieutenant came again, in Mana's voice. As an officer, he had a responsibility to those people to act appropriately: to be the leader they respected.

Tsukuyomi's words of recovering fast for more than his own sake were starting to make sense. As it was, he did not feel worthy of their praise and attention.

He would need to speak with Mana when they arrived.

The car ride was carried out in silence for the rest of the way. Maya seemed content with everything she had said, and Takeru already had plenty on his plate to consider. The thought of seeing familiar faces kept him going.

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan_

The trio of cars had driven through hours of countryside before they finally arrived at their destination. Tokyo, the capital of the Empire since the fall of Kyoto in 1998. It functioned well for what purposes the Diet and Shogunate required, but many still desired to return to their nation's ancient roots.

Takeru looked out the window and observed what an actually populated city looked like in the world of BETA. It was late afternoon, and so there were few people out. The sky had grown cold and unsettling with gray clouds, so it seemed everyone had already chosen to stay inside for the day. It gave a very gloomy feel to the city, which seemed to fit with the dire straits Japan found itself in.

There were no other cars on the road, so he assumed that the use of vehicles must have been rare. His leave from the hospital was a special case that the Shogun approved of, so there were no problems in their case. Without traffic, they must have made good time, though the car felt particularly slow in comparison to what he was used to in his original world.

"Takeru-sama, we will be there momentarily," Maya hung up the phone in front of her seat after finishing her conversation with the driver.

"Oh, good. I was getting a little bored, actually," he turned back to the window, trying to get his thoughts together. "Maya, how long do you think until I can move on my own?"

He wanted an honest opinion from someone the Shogun trusted. The doctors were optimistic and fed him plenty of recovery stories, but he needed something more solid. His body's weakness only made him feel useless to everyone.

"I do not believe you should concern yourself about the length of time, Takeru-sama. Whether it take a week or a few months, Japan will remain standing."

Takeru fought back a derisive grunt; she had no idea how wrong she was. Everything hinged on his fast recovery, so he could only hope the doctors were right.

Otherwise, history would repeat itself again.

"We have arrived," Maya smiled, her body folding into the seat with relief.

Takeru tried to get a better angle out his window to see. In front of them loomed some sort of traditional compound, surrounded by towering walls. A larger building, the castle inside, could be seen peeking out from the surrounding treetops. It looked like 'palace' accurately described the place after all.

The lead vehicle stopped which forced them to do the same. Security at the gate must have been thorough as they sat there for at least five minutes before the car began to move again. It seemed they were required to stop as well and Maya signaled for him to roll his window down.

Takeru did as she said and looked over the gate guards. They were all Imperial Guards, in the crimson red robes he had come to expect from a member of the Shogun's bodyguards. The young man who was directly in front of his window quickly saluted as soon as they saw Takeru's robes, and recognized his face.

"Shirogane-sama, it is our pleasure to welcome your return to the palace!" They shouted at the tops of their lungs, surprising him.

_These guys really don't kid around..._

"Th-thanks...I've returned," he returned the salute and Maya signaled for their driver to continue through.

After entering the palace grounds, it was still a short drive to the parking area where they were met by even more guards. As it was the heart of the Shogunate, he was sure they could never be too careful. Maya got out of the car first and rounded to the other side to reach his door.

_This is it._

Takeru mentally braced himself for the welcoming committee. There were even more people he had to walk in front of, and he was getting stage fright. The butterflies and knots in his stomach just got worse and worse as he sat there, the seconds passing by. Would he make a fool of himself? Probably.

"Takeru-sama, let's go," Maya was right there with him, her hand out for him to take.

Her presence somehow gave him the strength to move forward. They stood together in front of another set of gates that would lead them into the castle's surrounding gardens. It was the precipice of entry; the final step before safety.

The red guards stood in parade formation to welcome his arrival. They formed two columns on opposite sides of each other, with a walking path to the gate in between. Ceremonial rifles were cocked and set to the ground, parallel with their owner's body.

It was all very overwhelming to receive such a royal welcome. The closest he ever saw to something like that was the Emperor on TV in his old world. Who would have thought he would be in a similar situation?

The members of his squadron exited their cars and saluted. Unfortunately, they could go no farther. Without express permission of the Shogun, they were not allowed in her personal chambers: Takeru's destination. Still, they wanted to see him off properly.

Takeru returned their gesture as Maya began to move, his feet following her own. They trudged along at their own pace, but luckily everyone was patient. The worry he had in the car seemed to melt away as they soon reached the gate. Two of the guardsmen opened it for them and they quickly entered the safety of the inner grounds.

* * *

Takeru was amazed by the sheer size of the building they were walking through. The procession of guards must have led him through a dozen hallways, all of them sharing the same style. If he remembered correctly, traditional buildings were designed like that to confuse assassins and make them miss the actual residence of their target.

It was obvious when they arrived at the right part of the castle as the amount of servants in the corridors dramatically increased. More guards could be seen as well, their rifles replaced with holstered pistols or sometimes nothing at all. He figured Meiya found it uncomfortable to have so many weapons around the castle at all times.

Who would dare attack the Shogun in their own home, anyway?

Maya stopped in front of the door and Takeru's sore legs reminded him of their ailing condition. There was no getting around the fact he was going to collapse soon. It was a good effort with all the walking he did from the hospital and from the cars, but he was still too weak to do more.

Whatever Meiya had planned for him, he hoped it did not involve much more movement on his part.

"Her Highness is ready for you," said one of the guards.

"Then we shall proceed," Maya responded, shifting Takeru's weight onto her shoulder.

The doors were slid open and the two entered the room together. Takeru's breaths were short and fast as the last of his energy reserves were drained. He almost cursed out loud when he did not see any chairs.

Meiya sat on a small stage in front of them, at the opposite end of the room. A cushion lay beneath her folded legs, making her more comfortable as her weight rested on her knees. She was in a set of heavy robes that seemed very inconvenient to wear for anything but short engagements; a large golden headdress sat atop her head and reflected the light of the room, giving her a godly air.

They were alone in the room as the guards remained outside and the servants excused themselves.

"Takeru," their eyes met, and she seemed flooded with relief. "I am relieved your trip was a safe one."

Maya brought Takeru down with her as she bowed at one knee. She kept her eyes to the ground and avoided Meiya's gaze. Her show of respect brought the mood to a somber tone.

"Thanks-I mean," he could feel the glare he received from Maya without even looking at her. "thank you for your concern, Your Highness."

Takeru bowed his head low as a show of respect. Thanks to that, he missed Meiya's face scrunch up in dissatisfaction with his behavior.

"Takeru, you are home now. You need not be so stiff either. Do not make yourself uncomfortable for my sake," she pleaded, as if sensing his discomfort.

"Maya," she addressed her subordinate next, smiling. "thank you for your work. As always, you have perfectly completed the task given."

"There is no need to waste those words on me, Your Highness!" The servant exclaimed, bowing her head deeper.

"Now, Takeru. It is time for you to rest. I can see your body is still struggling, so allow us to care for your health now."

One of the side room doors opened to reveal Mana and a group of servants enter the room. They wheeled in a hospital bed, very reminiscent of the one he had just been in earlier that day. It appeared as though they were really quite prepared to facilitate his stay.

Still, he hesitated. Was he not just showing his weakness by forcing everyone to accommodate him? It frustrated him to no end that he was forcing himself on Meiya. Even if she said it was not like that, he knew her better than that. For a friend, she would do anything; if that meant it would put her in a difficult position, she would still do it.

What if he was just dragging Meiya down with him?

Something soft caressed his cheek and he woke from his stupor. Meiya stood before him, holding him in her embrace. All of his struggle seemed to go away as their gazes met. That smile of hers was enough to melt his heart. The ache in his body was replaced with a cleansing fire that rose up from his stomach and flooded his senses.

"Takeru, you have worked hard enough. It must have been hard for you, to appear strong in front of so many when you must feel so tired. I will have you rest your body now."

That was the first order she gave him as Shogun since he woke up. It was one he was very ready to follow.

"Ye-yes...Yuuhi-sama," he could not help but call her by name.

Meiya's eyes shut as her body was filled with satisfaction from his answer.

"Mana," she called for her servant, who quickly stepped forward and bowed.

"Yes, Yuuhi-sama."

Without any further explanation, Mana approached Takeru's free side. Together, the cousins lifted him back onto his feet and brought him over to the bed. With great care, they laid him down and allowed the servants to carefully undress him of his heavy clothes.

Maya accepted his golden overcoat and heavy boots, while he remained with the rest to stay decent. They turned to Meiya, who watched them work quietly. The smile had not gone from her face as she watched him slowly relax in their presence.

"Allow my vassal to retire to his quarters. We will speak another time."

"Yes, Your Highness," the servants echoed, wheeling Takeru's bed away.

Mana and Maya shared a glance before they nodded to one another and parted ways. Maya's place was to watch over Takeru, as ordered by Yuuhi. Mana, as always, stood by the Shogun's side.

The older woman watched as the light faded from Meiya's form once Takeru had disappeared from sight. Her strength seemed to dissipate as she was forced to sit back down. Meiya had been working tirelessly since the day before preparing for Takeru's arrival, taking no time for her other appointments or to even care for herself.

Though she could not stop the Shogun from indulging herself, Mana was pained to see her in such a state.

"Yuuhi-sama, perhaps you should retire as well."

"No, Tsukuyomi. I am fine. Please continue with the schedule for the day."

Despite her exhaustion, it was clear Meiya was very satisfied with Takeru's arrival. The entire castle had been buzzing about how she had smiled more in one day than she had in the two years of his absence.

If only that happiness could remain.

* * *

It had been over a week since Takeru had arrived at the palace. For the most part, he had stayed in his hospital bed and focused on resting. Every day, the servants would commit him to several massage and stretch sessions for him to continue to work out his limbs, and slowly but surely he could feel his strength return.

He had not been visited by Meiya much during his stay, but he knew she had no choice but to keep up with her schedule. It only made him want to walk and move around sooner, so he could explore the castle and see her himself. In her place, Mana and Maya visited often to keep tabs on his progress and to tell him stories of the time before he had fallen into a coma.

Apparently in that world he had been quite the pilot. Maybe not as good as he was in the other world, but Mana complimented him on his ability as a swordsman and a commander. He led his men with honor and encouraged them, rather than be forceful or cold. That talent for making friends endeared him to many people, even the Emperor himself, though Takeru thought that was an exaggeration made up by Maya.

Mana told him that when the strength in his limbs returned, she would have liked to challenge him to a sparring match. He could do little to refuse her, and so the days of his mental and physical training continued with an end goal in mind.

Slowly, his body began to fatten and return to what he could only assume was his normal weight. No longer were his cheeks sunken and gaunt, but were now full and pink. His hair had grown to an awfully long length, but when they asked to cut it, he told them to only trim it to his shoulders. It would serve as a reminder and as a marker of change; he would change, and the world would be saved.

When he was finally able to walk on his own after almost two weeks, it received a great round of applause from everyone present. Meiya finally made time so that they could meet, and he was able to walk to her audience chambers himself. They spoke of things with little importance; it was simply nice for the two friends to finally be with someone their age and relax.

Takeru's anchor to that world only grew stronger as he interacted with more and more people. He got to know the lives of those who lived within the walls, and of the grave situation that faced them outside. Slowly, he became accustomed to his place at Meiya's side, as her servant and as a soldier for the people of Japan.

It was still difficult for him to reciprocate what they expected of him as a person of his status, but he was trying.

* * *

Finally, the day had come for Takeru to prove his health had returned. With a small group of servants, Meiya led him to a lavish dojo within the estate. There, Mana had determined they would have a practice match to see if his physical and mental health had improved.

There had been talk of a trip, a visit to the spiritual capital by the Shogun. Meiya was to oversee the rebuilding efforts of Kyoto; inspect the army; and see to the people who continued to work hard to save their home. The goal to stand by her side, to walk with her there was what drove him forward. If he could beat Mana there, then he was one step closer to making a difference.

_It's time to take my life back._

"Takeru, I would remind you that you do not need to participate in this. It is only Tsukuyomi's personal desire to practice with an opponent, nothing more. If you do not feel ready," the unsteady tone that dressed her voice was unfitting.

"Yuuhi-sama," he called out to her. "This is something I want too."

Meiya could not help but silence herself after he said that. An internal struggle within herself occurred as she no doubt fought her concern for his well being with her respect for him and his decisions. Mana had told him things like that too; that she had always deferred to Takeru when she was conflicted, and that she had trusted him with her life on more than one occasion.

That was why he was with her on that day the bombs fell, and he knew that it was just as much his fault that she was in the condition she was today. If he wanted to bring back the old Meiya, he had to bring back himself first.

Mana emerged from the adjacent room, wearing a set of loose robes that would allow great mobility. Takeru joined her in the center, already dressed for the event. Maya presented both of them with wooden swords and then took her place behind the Shogun at the side of the room. There were a few other spectators, but they remained deathly silent as both fighters got into their respective stances.

Takeru only had his memories from his old world of hand to hand combat training. Back then, they used knives to fight one another; the extra weight and length of the sword was already throwing him off balance. It would take some getting used to before he would be able to keep up with the experienced opponent in front of him.

"Are you prepared, Takeru-sama?" Mana had been comfortable with the weapon as soon as it got in her hands, so she patiently waited for his go ahead.

"Let's do this," in an amateur's pose, he held the weapon in both hands in front of him.

Within a moment, Tsukuyomi had charged forward and brought her weapon down upon his head. He only had a moment to respond and barely deflected it with his own blade, the wood echoing a loud smack in the room as they hit.

With every swing of her blade, Mana roared with the power she put behind it. Takeru was forced on the defensive as he shuffled back and forth, trying to get a feel for the weapon while at the same time trying to avoid being to be hit. The shortness in his breath made it quite obvious to everyone that the fight was taxing on his still recovering body.

"Will Shirogane-sama be alright?"

"He does seem awfully tired."

The female servants gossiped among themselves as the battle continued. Meiya was in earshot, though she did not react to their words. Her body was rigidly stiff; the face of the Shogun remained as still as a rock as she observed her subordinates fight with a mask of serenity.

Maya took her eyes off the fight in front of her when she saw Meiya shake slightly. It had been a response to Takeru's arm being hit, hard, by one of Mana's many strikes. The facade was easy for the guard to see through, and she noticed the white knuckles that were tearing into the formal robes the Shogun was wearing. Just to contain herself from stopping the match, Meiya was having to fight her instincts.

For Takeru's sake, she could not step in to save him despite how she desperately wanted to.

Takeru's foot slipped on the sleek wooden floor, sending his body lurching to the side. Luckily, it allowed him to avoid another one of Mana's strikes. Since they had started fighting, he had gotten used to the blade in his hand. Unfortunately, he knew none of the stances or proper responses to counter Mana's attacks, so he had not retaliated yet.

As Mana came forward with another strike, blade raised above her head, something clicked in his head.

_This feels like..deja vu?_

His arm reacted on its own as his blade thrust forward at Mana's chest. With her body undefended, the woman was forced to slide back to avoid him. Everyone gasped as Takeru made his first attack for the entire match.

The blade in his hand trembled as the muscles twitched with the rapid response. What was that just now? He could have sworn he had felt something, _someone_ move his body for him. It had felt so natural to move that way, to strike like that.

Fortunately, the saving grace effect had not stopped. The tingling feeling in the back of his brain grew as he studied the weapon in his hand. With a flick of his wrist, he turned the blade so that he held it in a reverse grip. The sharp side faced out at his attacker as the blade itself rested just above the ground at its longest point.

Maya leaned forward, her eyes sparked with interest.

"Have you found yourself, Takeru-sama?" she whispered, recognizing that posture.

Meiya continued to remain still, her concentration unwavering. Inside, hope sprung to life.

Mana noticed his shift in stance and seemed to prepare herself in a defensive pose. Had she seen him use that kind of style before? No matter, he would be the one to attack that time!

Takeru leaped at his opponent like a vicious tiger, his blade clacking against her own. His disadvantage had shifted to that where the two were evenly matched: a stalemate. Mana was forced back, but he kept on her. Every attack seemed to be aimed at a vulnerable spot, and his speed was incredible. With a flick of his wrist, the blade's direction would shift and sway, forcing Mana to lock eyes with his hand and not his body.

His eyes drifted to her footwork, and he used it to predict the direction she was headed. A bold strike went out for her chest that she went to block, but it was a feint. The weight in his body shifted to the side just before their blades met again, putting him right at her defenseless flank. She tried to twist her waist to face him, but Takeru's blade was already rising up from below her arms.

A wooden sword flew across the room, clattering as it skipped along the floor and came to a rest at Meiya's knees. Takeru's blade sat near Mana's neck, the woman frozen in place. Both their bodies heaving from adrenaline. Sweat poured down his brow as he started to realize what he had just done.

That feeling, he knew what it was. The muscle memory from the previous Takeru still remained, since it was their shared body after all. It only took a similar event for his memories, the stances, to come back to him.

Mana began to smile, even at her own defeat.

"Congratulations, Takeru-sama. That was a splendid strike."

He lowered his own weapon, taking a deep breath. The sweat turned cold on his body as the heat generated by the fight subsided. It was a wake up call as he tried to wipe himself clean with his robes.

"That was close, Mana-san. You almost had me."

The woman handed him a towel that one of the servants had procured. She shook her head in disagreement.

"My attacks only served to strengthen your resolve. It seems some of your memories have returned. Only a man like you would hold his blade like that," a guttural sound came out of her mouth.

Mana laughed. She actually laughed, he could not believe his ears. Was it really that impressive?

Maya joined them, a rare grin of hers had manifested itself.

"Takeru-sama, I am glad to see your strength was not lost. It has always been a pleasure to observe your...unique stance."

"Ah, thanks. It feels...right," his gaze drifted to the blade still in his hands.

Those movements, they felt so familiar. Had it always been like that? He could not imagine the training that world's Takeru had to go through to get to that point.

As the three were caught up in one another, soft clapping could be heard. They turned to see Meiya clapping, her face full of joy. The other servants quickly joined the Shogun in congratulating the victor.

Takeru could not help but blush and scratch the back of his head. He bowed in thanks, but his mind was caught up in the moment.

The first step toward his freedom had been made.

* * *

_November 7th, 2001_

Takeru knelt once again in the throne room, where he had first gone after arriving at the palace. Together with him were Mana and Maya, who both stood behind Meiya at the front of the room. Rather than be in her usual dress robes, today was to be the day they would travel to Kyoto so she had chosen to dress more comfortably. She wore a splendid uniform of purple and gold; the Shogun's exclusive color. A military cap sat over her head, completing the uniform.

He remained on one knee as she approached.

"Takeru Shirogane. I hereby accept your position as the head of your household, the Shirogane. May you lead your family into the future with great strength, and carry their name with honor."

He had been told shortly before the ceremony that it was mostly for record keeping purposes. It seemed something as simple as that required them to go through a bunch of steps and procedures, but it all felt like progress to him.

_Mother, father..I promise to make you proud._

Their lives were already gone from that world, but he was sure they would watch over him. He would get revenge for the both of them, he swore it.

"Will you continue to serve me, Yuuhi Mitsurugi, of the Mitsurugi household, as your ancestors have done for centuries?"

His eyes had been locked to the ground as he bowed his head. At that point, he allowed himself to look upon her sapphire orbs. They were unable to tear themselves from each other as Meiya took a sharp breath.

With strength bubbling up from his chest, he put his all in his answer.

"I will stand by your side, as I always have, Yuuhi-sama."

He could have sworn he could see a glint of light form in the corner of her eye as she received his answer.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Muv Luv.**


	3. Reunion

_Muv Luv: Provenance_

* * *

Takeru found himself in the back of another car, on his way to the old capital of Kyoto. Sitting next to him was none other than Meiya Mitsurugi, the Shogun of Japan. To any other citizen, it would be an immense honor to hold that seat; for Takeru, it was simply another drive. The knots in his stomach were less from Meiya's powerful presence, but more on what was ahead.

He was still having difficulty adjusting to his position in the Guard. The contingent he was a part of was going to see a great number of soldiers and civilians living in Kyoto. He was not sure if he knew the proper etiquette still, as things had been relatively lax in the palace. After all, everyone thought he could do no wrong with his considerable influence, which in no small part was thanks to the very person sitting next to him.

Takeru's eyes wandered; first out the window, then to the person sitting to his right. The sun filtered in through the windows, causing Meiya's hair to shine. She looked splendid in that uniform, and he could not help but sit a little straighter.

The poise she radiated complimented her usual grace; hands clasped together in her lap, eyes straight, and chest out truly brought out the best in her.

_Meiya, you seem so...comfortable like this._

"Takeru?" Meiya said after noticing his stare, "Is there something amiss?"

He tried to recover quickly, eyes dancing away. Suddenly, the back of Mana's head, who was driving the car, seemed much more interesting.

"Eh, uh no," a chill ran down his spine as a source of dark energy came from the front passenger, "I mean, there is nothing wrong, Your Highness."

Meiya sighed, her eyes half lidded in exasperation. His quick correction had bothered her, yet it satisfied the soothing beast that was Maya, her very strict bodyguard.

"Takeru, I have told you many times you do not need to stand on formality with me when we are alone."

_Ah, but Meiya..._

Takeru glanced at his overly zealous subordinate sitting in the passenger seat. The back of his neck tingled with danger.

_We are not alone._

"Yes, Yuuhi-sama," Takeru said in an even tone.

The last thing he wanted to do was make Maya angry. She was the one most capable of making his trip filled with misery. For someone who was supposed to listen to what he said, she often had a way with turning the tables on Takeru.

"Takeru-sama, do you remember your time in Kyoto?" Mana asked after a long pause.

Takeru perked up after hearing his name called. Kyoto? He visited it before in the original world on school field trips, but he never really got into the folklore of the place. If he remembered correctly, the Takeru in that world was familiar with it. In fact, he had lived there for a time.

The original Imperial Palace had been in Kyoto after all. His family, the Shirogane had their estate there before it was burned down during the Siege of Kyoto. He was reminded of the tale Maya had told him of the battle, as she had been under the command of another regent house at the time during their defense of the city. Maya described how horrifying it was to see the once beautiful, blooming capital set ablaze by the monstrous BETA.

His hands instinctively clenched as he thought of the aliens. The memory led to another, and he suddenly felt very uncomfortable.

Meiya noticed his discomfort and called out to him, though he could not hear her. Faintly, Takeru could feel that she had grasped his hand with her own.

_Mother..._

Among the casualties had been his mother during the siege. Apparently, she had not been able to evacuate in time. It was devastating to his father, who had been participating as a vanguard to stall a portion of the BETA's advance. Takeru, as a fresh recruit, had been deployed to a rear base at the time and had not been allowed to support the direct defense of the city.

Both he and his father had blamed themselves for the death of his mother. Had they been given word of the impending threat or been allowed to deploy, they might have been able to save her.

Though he had not been the one to experience it, Takeru felt the same frustration and anger swell inside of him.

"Takeru!" Meiya called out to him.

Takeru turned to her, surprised he had been so lost in thought she had to yell to wake him. When he noticed how close Meiya was, he traced her arm and saw that her gloved hand was holding his. Takeru began to panic as he must have made everyone worry with his response.

"Tsukuyomi," Meiya said while watching Takeru, "I believe it best that we do not dredge up such memories at a time like this."

"Yes, Your Highness, my deepest apologies, Takeru-sama."

Mana's eyes reflected in the rear view mirror, full of remorse. It made Takeru uncomfortable.

"Eh, no...it's fine, really."

Takeru did not want to make a big deal out of it. It was all in the past anyway. He would just make everyone uncomfortable if he was to say anything more.

"Takeru."

Meiya's concern was evident in her body language. Even though he was no longer confined to a hospital bed, it was obvious that Meiya still believed him vulnerable. Maybe she was right, considering his mind was still in line with the other world and not that one.

Still, Takeru did not enjoy causing her pain. The way she scrunched her brow and muddled her pristine look over something unnecessary made him feel responsible. She looked much better when she smiled, a rare event in the short time they had been together.

"I'm fine, Meiya."

The car became deathly silent as he let slip her real name. It was simply a twist of the tongue; the last time he had truly comforted her, it had been when he was still free to call her by that moniker. Had it been that long? Truly?

Mana's grip on the steering wheel tightened, but she showed no other sign of disapproval.

Maya was in the middle of a coughing fit as the shock had caused her to swallow too much.

Takeru and Meiya had their eyes glued to one another. Her grip had unconsciously tightened, and he could tell from how her features had shifted so suddenly that she was more than content with what he had said. The wrinkles left her, replaced with one of the most relieved grins he had ever seen her wear. A weight had been lifted from her shoulders as the veil came undone.

"You knew...all along, you..." Meiya choked a bit, eyes glistening.

His act must have been somewhat convincing. Not once before had he called her anything but 'Yuuhi', so she must have lost hope he remembered her true identity. If it made her feel that relieved, he was glad for the slip.

"I thought it was something to be kept a secret, so I hesitated. Sorry for worrying-" Meiya's arms wrapped around his neck.

Together, they shared an embrace. It was different than the one she gave him in the hospital: somehow, it felt all the more powerful, like their true reunion had arrived. He had to admit, it was good to finally be able to say what he had been thinking since he first saw her again.

"Takeru...Takeru, you idiot..." Meiya whispered into his neck, muffled further by their proximity.

"..." He held tight, not letting go.

Takeru and Meiya remained near to one another for the rest of the ride, as their hearts were brought closer.

* * *

"We have arrived, Yuuhi-sama."

Outside, a _massive_ crowd had gathered to greet Her Highness; soldiers and civilians alike made up the throngs of people that lined the road. In the background, Takeru recognized the hulking figures of TSFs, lined up in some sort of parade formation.

_What are those...Shiranui?_

The illustrious domestic third generation tactical fighter, the Type-94 Shiranui. It was well known by the Japanese and her allies as the workhorse of the military, and a reliable one at that. He never had the pleasure to pilot one, but the Fubuki was conceptually very similar as a training platform for Imperial eishi.

It was quite a sight to see them from his spot on the ground.

"Takeru-sama, there is something you should keep in mind before we meet the people," Maya said.

The large convoy began to near a parting in the crowd: their stop.

"Hm?" his concentration was broken as the mood shifted.

"Before you suffered your wounds, you were known as Yuuhi-sama's closest confidante. Wherever she went, you were rarely far behind. This has led the people to have certain...expectations of you, that can differ from simply your status as a vassal."

It sounded like his already complicated life was about to get worse. Meiya noticed as his lips curve downward and quickly sought to ease his worry.

"Takeru, what Maya means is that the people would be concerned should you choose to distance yourself from me during our appearances. To keep the people comfortable, we must strive to maintain the status quo," Meiya squeezed his hand reassuringly. "Stay close to me, and do not be stiff in my presence."

Act natural? With Maya around, that would be difficult. If he construed it as an order though, the bodyguards would not be able to argue with it, right?

Takeru returned the gesture as the car came to a stop.

"Of course, Yuuhi-sama."

The act of ignorance once again was forced on all of them as they prepared to depart. Their guards exited first, no doubt to open the doors for them. Before she was forced to depart the sanctuary, Meiya took a deep breath to steady herself. She noticed Takeru's gaze and tried to smile.

"I fear that I still cannot get used to appearances like this. The amount of people who wish to see me is difficult to comprehend."

Takeru squeezed her hand one last time before letting go.

"I will be right behind you."

The doors were opened, and a deafening cheer invaded the inside of the vehicle. Calls to the Shogun and blessings to her and the Imperial Family seemed to be the most common cries let loose by the people.

Meiya exited first, and on her side was the direction they were to walk. Takeru waited a moment before exiting on his side, which was just as packed with people. If he did not know better, the cries grew louder after he was seen for the first time. Maya escorted him around the car to where Meiya and Mana stood, waiting.

The peoples' shouts grew louder and more frenzied as the Shogun was seen with her favored vassal. Takeru was given a special permission to stand close to Meiya, closer than even her bodyguards were allowed. That implicit trust she had for Takeru was not lost on the people, as they immediately noticed when Takeru took his usual place at her side.

_Something like this is enough to make people happy?_

It was difficult to fathom.

Meiya took the lead and began to walk down the cleared path, guarded by more of her house's redcoats. Takeru and the rest joined in behind her, their duty was to remain stoic and intimidating as a show of force representing the Imperial Royal Guard.

On occasion, the Shogun would wave to her subjects as she passed. Such a simple gesture seemed enough to satisfy the masses, if only temporarily.

Their destination was the Imperial Palace of Kyoto; the reconstruction effort had brought much of the castle back to its former glory. It sat directly in front of them, not but a hundred yards away from their car.

There, in front of the main gate, stood a small procession of soldiers in formal dress. Ahead of time, Takeru had been told they would be met and escorted by the elite members of the 1st Tactical Armored Regiment of Kyoto. Their leader was a man by the name of Naoya Sagiri, whom Takeru had felt an odd sense of familiarity with after hearing of him.

Takeru was curious to see who it was that was so well known and respected, even by the Guard. Supposedly, he was a staunch supporter of the Shogun and her policies, so he hoped things would go well.

After a short time of being stared at by thousands of citizens at once, they arrived to meet the Kyoto delegation. Takeru's eyes gravitated toward the imposing man in front, who immediately stood at attention and saluted the Shogun. His men quickly followed suit, completing their show of respect.

"Your Highness, it is our pleasure to welcome your return to Kyoto!"

The heavy sunlight glinted across the rims of his glasses, but Sagiri did not even flinch at the presence of nobility.

That niggling feeling of familiarity struck again as Takeru met the man's steel gaze. It was almost as if they had met before, though he could not say when. Something about that feeling of closeness was uncomfortable for Takeru, and mentally he took a step back from Naoya. There was something off about him.

"I am home. Thank you for your welcome, Captain Sagiri."

With their formal greetings out of the way, Sagiri stomped his foot once on the ground. The men behind him slid to one side or the other, clearing the way for Meiya to enter the palace. The captain's outstretched hand beckoned her to continue.

"Please, Your Highness, enter first."

As if on cue, all of those present in the crowd bowed their heads in respect. Takeru looked around in astonishment to see such an act take place. There must have been significance in the Shogun returning to her home she was driven from three years ago. It was a momentous and stunning occasion for the Japanese people; a victory, however small, over the BETA.

Meiya took it in stride and continued on, unabated. Takeru and the bodyguards followed with Sagiri's men taking the rear. When the gates of the palace were closed again, the people slowly began to disperse and the TSFs made their way back to their hangars, the event over.

* * *

Takeru inspected the small office he had been invited into after splitting from the Shogun's party. While they had continued the tour of the grounds, Sagiri had invited Takeru to have a cup of tea with him. The chance to speak with someone of Sagiri's rank was enticing, but it was mostly thanks to Meiya's agreement that he had gone along for the ride.

The room itself was full of earthy colors; darkened marble wood floors and furniture took up much of the space. Book cases hid most of either wall, which lead Takeru to believe Sagiri enjoyed reading in his off time. The desk of the captain was quite sparse, so it must have been rare for him to make use of his office. He did seem like more of a man of action.

"Sorry for the wait, Shirogane-sama."

Takeru turned to see Naoya enter the room with two cups. He took the one handed to him and observed the drink. It looked normal enough, but the uneasiness ceased to disappear.

"Does it not satisfy you?" Sagiri asked.

There was little point in making a scene, so Takeru shrugged and took a sip. It was not so bad.

"It's fine."

The two stood in uncomfortable silence for a moment. Takeru wondered what he had to say. It was already odd enough for the roles of respect to be reversed in their situation; Sagiri was older and had more experience than him, but still deferred to Takeru's lead in the conversation.

"When we saw you arrive with the Shogun, it was a heartwarming moment."

The silence was broken as the captain smiled genuinely.

"Did you know that in the aftermath of Operation Lucifer, you were referred to as the Hero of Yokohama? Rumor had spread it was you that had protected the Shogun with your own TSF after the G-bomb dropped. Truth or not, it revitalized the morale of the men after what the Americans had done to us."

There was poison laced in his words when he spoke of the American soldiers. Sagiri was clearly dissatisfied with their actions that day, but Takeru wondered how far that dislike extended.

If what Mana had told him was true, then the rumors about Takeru were not so far from the truth. Though, he doubted his presence did much to save the Shogun; if anything, it might have made things worse for Meiya's mental health.

"To see you recover is a victory in itself, Shirogane-sama. The Shogun has shown her interest in you time and time again, so we the people knew it was worth celebrating to see your return."

It was not clear whether he was being sincere, or whether he had an ulterior motive for his words. Regardless, Takeru could do nothing but accept it as genuine.

"Thank you, captain. To be honest though, I am not sure if I am the most capable of that position."

It had been some time since he had used a TSF, so there was no voucher for his skills. Not only that, but he knew little of military tactics or the intimacies of nobility relationships, so he could do little to offer Meiya advice anymore. With his current ability, he felt like a puppet with a single string.

"Perhaps, but the Shogun has chosen to put her faith in you. That alone means something when she could have chosen anyone else."

That much was true, he supposed. Even if it was not really _him_, but the other Takeru she had chosen, he had sworn to stay by Meiya's side.

"Her Highness is a blessing to the people in this time of darkness. Without her words and care, I fear the people would have been driven to madness long ago. On the other hand, her wisdom is constricted by those in office," Sagiri said, his eyes somber.

"So, you see Yuuhi-sama as more than a figurehead."

If his dedication to the Shogun was to that level, then there was no wonder of what his intentions were. The Diet served the people just as much as Meiya did, but they were also the ones most easily affected by international pressure. It must have been difficult for someone like Sagiri to see Meiya not be able to take certain actions because of the limitations of her office.

That was all part of an intricate, subtle system of checks and balances that Takeru found difficult to pick apart with criticism.

Sagiri seemed baffled for a moment by Takeru's assumption. His eyebrows were raised in surprise, before they settled down with a smirk splayed across the commander's lips.

"Of course, my intentions must have seemed obvious to someone of your caliber," Sagiri said with a defeated hum.

"I support Yuuhi-sama as well, captain. However, the people of the Diet are just as much her retainers as you and I. Surely, you can understand that?"

Sagiri narrowed his eyes in displeasure.

"If they were truly her loyal servants, they would not do something so foolish as to allow the Americans to have their way on our land. We have been crippled by our own government, who would much rather see Japan become a UN base or an American protectorate-" Sagiri's rhetoric was interrupted by the door swinging open.

"Captain Sagiri!"

A loud voice echoed in the room, cutting of Naoya's speech. His second-in-command, first lieutenant Sayoko Komaki, entered with a stern countenance. Behind her, a tail of dark hair swung with her forward momentum. Dark eyes bored a hole into the captain, who took it in stride.

Sayoko quickly saluted in both an act of respect and an apology for her outburst.

"Forgive me, Captain," Komaki said; her eyes turned from Sagiri to Takeru. "Shirogane-sama, but I fear you may have overstepped your bounds should you have continued. Surely, Shirogane-sama should not be troubled with such things."

"Ah, yes. Of course, I must have gone too far," Sagiri, now calm, turned to Takeru and bowed. "apologies, Shirogane-sama."

"No, it isn't a problem," Takeru muttered, his eyes shifting between the two of them.

_That seemed..a little convenient._

"You surely did not come here just to scold me, lieutenant Komaki," Sagiri said with mirth.

The two officers shared a smile before the woman returned to her business.

"Yes sir. As you requested, I have come to inform you the maintenance has started in the hangars."

Sagiri seemed to light up at the prospect. He roused himself and made his way over to the door. Not one to forget a guest, he turned to Takeru and smiled.

"Shirogane-sama, would you give us the honor of your presence during the maintenance time? I am sure the men would be proud to have you there."

Takeru doubted he could find Meiya easily as her tour had surely gone elsewhere by that point. Besides, it would be rewarding to see a TSF up close after so long.

"That sounds fine, captain."

"Very well then, let us go."

The three soldiers exited the room, leaving their previous troubles behind. It was still a day of celebration, after all. Their emotions still lingered, however.

* * *

Nearby, the tour had been paused after the Shogun requested they visit one of the rebuilt shrines in the area. There, Meiya walked with her two escorts, Mana and Maya, through a small garden that had been recently replanted.

It was nice to get a break from the very structured visit. They finally had a chance to enjoy the peace and quiet.

With a moment to herself, Meiya was able to take stock of her situation and get her bearings. The silence reminded her that Takeru was still off somewhere with captain Sagiri. With the thought of her vassal, she was reminded of something unpleasant and shifted uncomfortably.

"Maya," Meiya addressed her subordinate. "Please retrieve Takeru, I have need of him."

"Yes, Your Highness." Maya replied. She bowed and excused herself to seek out the young man.

Meiya watched her leave, fretting the eventual conversation she had planned. The sigh she heaved was laced with displeasure. She tried to recover and think of something else, but anxiety soon filled her mind again.

"Is there something wrong, Yuuhi-sama?" her act did not pass by Mana unnoticed.

"I fear that the free time we have had with Takeru will soon come to an end," Meiya said, wringing her hands. "I have received a request for him to return to the Imperial Guard Barracks in Tokyo, to be integrated into the military again."

Mana's eyes narrowed after hearing such an order. It seemed too perfectly timed to be a coincidence. Could it have been a rival or opposition group, trying to separate Takeru and the Shogun? There were many who were envious of what was often seen as his special treatment, but to go so far...

"Surely, they must realize he is still resting?"

"It matters not. I will not allow them to jeopardize his health with their selfish whims."

Meiya's serenity soon turned to a fiery determination. Once she set her mind to something, it would be impossible to dissuade her. To try and separate her from Takeru, Mana could not fathom their idiocy.

However, there was the question as to the motive behind Meiya's choice.

"Your Highness, forgive me but, do your concerns go past that of the Shogunate?"

There was a pause, and Meiya's back prevented Mana from seeing her young charge's face. The intimate question must have gone too far, as she had feared.

"Apologies, Your Highness. I overstepped my bounds."

"No, Tsukyomi. My feelings..." Meiya's hand held her chest to calm the beating heart inside. "have always been involved when it comes to him. Does that make me a terrible leader?"

Meiya turned toward Mana, her eyes pleading for an answer. That question must have been something the Shogun asked herself often.

Mana could not help but smile at Meiya's forwardness. Of course, she already had an answer.

"Of course not, Yuu-"

The words died in her throat.

Meiya's eyebrows furrowed when Mana stiffened and quickly saluted. She turned to follow her subordinate's gaze and gasped at the person who stood before her.

"Your Highness, a pleasure to see you," smooth as satin, his words tickled her ears.

That charming grin of his made her stomach do an uneasy flip.

"Ikaruga-dono..."

* * *

Not far off, a figure leaned around a corner and observed the Shogun and the new arrival. They pressed a hand to their ear, activating a transceiver.

"Ma'am, the Hawk has met the Dove," the shadow had a distinctly feminine voice.

"_Hm. He seems to be moving quickly. That means our plans change as well. Return for now, Isumi."_

"Roger."

The person known as Isumi eased off of the wall and disappeared around the wall. Those she had observed were none the wiser of their unwanted visitor.

* * *

"Wow..." Takeru whispered as they entered the hangar.

On both sides stood the metal gray of the Imperial Army's Shiranui, in their docks. Mechanics and pilots ran about, working on the machines. Some were already in their fortified suits while others still wore their dress uniforms, addressing the mechanics or advising from afar.

Takeru's unit had only been the six of them in the old world, so they never really got the experience of a crowded berth. It had been a lot more laid back and informal, since Yokohama had never been under any real threat during their stay. After a while, they realized that the entire thing was an act, that they were merely pilots for show.

The pilots present were the real deal. Ironic, considering Takeru's position would make him appear as their senior rather than the other way around.

"Impressive, aren't they?" Sagiri watched his men, the pride radiating off of him.

"Yes, very much. It has been a while since I've been in a hangar with so much...activity," Takeru said, marveling at their dedication.

"Lieutenant Komaki," the woman in question stood at attention at the captain's call. "please stay with Shirogane-sama, I need to speak with the chief mechanic."

"Yes sir."

The two were left alone as Sagiri waded into the organized chaos. He seemed right at home, and the men all turned to him subconsciously as a leader. They all loved him, it was obvious.

Takeru passed a glance at the woman next to him and realized she was no different. Perhaps, her feelings went farther than the rest even.

His eyes wandered the crowd, since there was little else to do. Most of the pilots were older than he was expecting, in their mid to late twenties at least. It went along with the image the regiment had garnered as being filled with only the best of the best. It was not difficult to see why they were chosen to guard one of the most important cities in Japan.

_Wait..._

Takeru narrowed his eyes as he thought he saw someone or something vaguely familiar. It was on the far side of the hangar, and only for a split second. He could have sworn he saw a particularly recognizable style of hair, wrapped in a yellow bow. It must have been his eyes playing tricks on him.

"Shirogane-sama, shall we?" Komaki made a gesture forward with her arm.

"Eh, what?" Takeru shook his head clear of random thoughts.

_There is no way..._

"I was going to take you to the upper level. After so long, it might be nice to sit in a TSF. Of course, it could never match the honorable Zuikaku or the Takemikazuchi, but..."

"Ah, no. That sounds fine, lieutenant."

They were headed over in the same direction he had seen the illusion. A flash of ruby red eyes covered in crimson red hair splayed across his eyes as memories invaded his mind. An intimate voice resonated in his ears as each step he took became heavy.

"_Takeru-chan! Takeru-chan, what's wrong?"_

_Sumika..._

"Takeru-sama!"

He felt a hand on his shoulder and twisted around to see Maya.

Her eyes were wide in concern, and he realized his face must have been pale. The memories had been particularly vivid. It had been so long since he had seen her, both in life and his dreams. Takeru had not been expecting the recollection to overcome him so quickly.

"Yes?" Takeru responded, his throat dry.

"Are you alright, Shirogane-sama?" Komaki was concerned as well.

A few of the men around them had picked up on the Guard's distress and were watching with interest. Maya quickly picked up on their ogling and glared at each and every one of them to mind their business.

"I'm fine..I just, remembered something..."

"Lieutenant Komaki, ma'am!"

Takeru's heart rose into his throat as the shrill voice echoed in the hangar. It was the same as he remembered, just as bubbly and lively as before. What the hell was she doing there?

It must have been his imagination. A bad dream had taken over. Maybe he had collapsed and was back in the hospital already. There was no way _she _could be-

"Second Lieutenant Kagami, what is it?"

_...Here?!_

Takeru turned to look and saw a young woman saluting his attendant. She wore her red hair in a long pony tail, tied by a single yellow ribbon much too large in comparison to her lithe frame. The girl was apparently a pilot, as she wore the green and blue fortified suit of the Imperial Army. Her eyes shifted from Komaki to Takeru, and the pupils dilated in immediate recognition.

"I-I'm sorry, sir!" 'Kagami' recognized the Imperial Guardsmen and stood at attention. "Second Lieutenant Sumika Kagami, 1st Tactical Armor Regiment!"

Takeru's breaths became rapid and shallow as he looked over her pristine face. There were no cuts; no bruises; no signs of trauma. Sumika was walking and talking like she really was there in front of him, alive and well.

_But..Yuuko-sensei..you said she wasn't in this world. She isn't supposed to be here!_

The one thing that kept him going in the old world was knowing his childhood friend, Sumika Kagami, would never have to experience the horrors of the BETA. It gave him peace of mind, and a reason to want to return home.

Now, in that new world, she was right there in front of him. Worse, she was a pilot like him, right on the front line against those things.

"Su..Sumika?" Takeru said, his voice no louder than a whisper.

It was as if she were a mirror to his world: if he was not careful, she would shatter into a million pieces in front of him.

"Y-yes, sir?" Sumika responded, obviously uncomfortable with his use of her first name.

To her, it must have been more than odd for someone of that kind of rank to address her so closely.

"How..how are you...ah!" a searing pain buried into Takeru's temples, forcing him to one knee.

"Takeru-sama!"

"Shirogane-sama?!"

The memories were coming faster. More of the times he was with Sumika in his original world, that smiling face of hers. All the ranges of emotions she had ever shown him; how overjoyed she was when they went out on a date for the first time; how heartbroken when he had chosen Meiya...

Takeru could not handle the shock of seeing her there, alive. It was all too overwhelming.

"You!" Maya said as she pointed toward Sumika. "What have you done to him?!"

Sumika was still easy to frighten when presented with an uncomfortable situation. Given her inexperience with the Imperial Guard, she froze up. The girl began to shake with fear of not knowing what to do.

Had she said something wrong? Was there something on her face?

"I-I don't-"

With her duty entrusted to her by the Shogun, Maya would handle any threat to Takeru's health. She took a step forward and grabbed Sumika by the collar of her suit, pulling her close. Even without her heels, Maya stood a head taller than the younger girl and was sufficiently intimidating.

"I will not ask again, knave!"

"Lieutenant Tsukuyomi, please yield!" Komaki pleaded as more of the pilots approached, including Sagiri.

"What is going on here?" Sagiri said, his eyes drifting from Takeru to Maya and then his own subordinates.

"You should be more wary of your pilots. This one has attempted to harm a member of the Imperial Guard!"

"I-I w-w-ould never!" Sumika stuttered in a failed attempt to defend herself.

"Silence!" Maya shouted, refusing any excuse.

"_Stop..."_ Takeru whispered from the ground, his voice lost.

Whether the girl in front of him was real or fake, she had done nothing to deserve that treatment. His body felt weak after accepting all those old memories, but he struggled to rise.

"I will have you arrested for this!"

"Allow me to speak with my subordinate, lieutenant Tsukuyomi. Perhaps I can-"

Sagiri tried to negotiate the release of Sumika, to no avail.

"Silence, this will be handled by the Guard!"

"Stop it!"

Everyone quieted as Takeru had risen from his knees, fully recovered. His eyes drifted from Maya's and Sagiri's to those of a frightened Sumika. He took a few steps forward, so as to be right in front of her.

When Takeru raised his hand, many believed he would slap Sumika. The girl in question had a similar line of thinking as she snapped her eyes shut and braced. Instead, the back of her head was slowly pushed forward by the palm of his hand.

Takeru embraced Sumika with both arms, stunning everyone present.

Even if she could not recognize him, Takeru could not help but want to reunite with his old friend. It was too painful to see her hurt like that, because of him.

Sumika was unable to respond as someone of a much higher status was hugging her. She became conflicted on what to do, and wondered whether or not it would be an act of treason if she tried to push away.

In the end, the two settled for an awkward, yet close hug. The crowd remained silent and gave Takeru all the time he needed to come to terms with a new reality.

A reality where Sumika lived in that hell with him.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Muv Luv.**


	4. Tension

_Muv Luv: Provenance_

* * *

"Ikaruga-dono." Meiya stumbled into a haphazard greeting with the other noble's sudden arrival.

Before her, Ikaruga Takatsugu made a curt bow in respect. One of the many heroes the war against the BETA had spawned, Ikaruga and the men who served under him were responsible for the survival of thousands of soldiers in the waning days of the Battle for Kyoto in 1998. With only fourteen TSFs, they were able to wipe out the laser class in the immediate vicinity of the city limits, allowing trapped and cut off units to retreat to safety.

Three years later, and his 16th Guard Battalion remained one of the most prestigious groups in the military. Men and women from every branch and every household in Japan admired and loved him. The Emperor himself had commended Ikaruga for his efforts, giving him one of the greatest blessings.

Yet, with all of that fame and honor, Meiya still could not feel comfortable in his presence. There was something about him that simply bothered her. It had started soon after Takeru's internment in the hospital, which coincidentally was the time where the interactions between the Mitsurugi and Takatsugu increased dramatically.

Ikaruga clasped his hands behind his back, standing proudly before her. "Your Highness, I'm glad you arrived safely."

"Thank you, it was relieving to see the people again after so long." Meiya revealed the curve of a smile, and replied with her honest feelings.

Despite the reservations she held against him, Meiya would not allow it to show on the outside. To everyone watching, the Shogun was comfortably speaking with one of her most loyal retainers.

"Hm. I was lucky enough to arrive beforehand and witness it myself. The comfort you gave them was palpable. No doubt, this visit has renewed their faith."

Ikaruga took a few steps away, to overlook the nearby pond that acted as the centerpiece of the garden. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air of the outside. Members of the Regent houses rarely had any peace; similar to the Shogun, their duties kept them busy.

Meiya frowned at his last spoken words as she was reminded of the many talks she had to go through simply to receive a chance to visit Kyoto. The National Diet often did their best to keep a close eye on her activities, perhaps out of fear that she would lower their positions.

It was no secret that it was the Shogunate and not the elected officials that were loved and supported by the people, and with that power and the Imperial Guard at her beck and call, it would not be difficult for Meiya to try and usurp power. Only a few of them, like the moderate Kurechika Sakaki, understood the true intentions of the Shogun were to unite, not separate the government and its people.

"I fear it was not easy to receive this opportunity. The people's hearts continue to be misinterpreted by those in power, and it is I to blame," Meiya admitted.

Since Yokohama, she had lost her aggressive nature. The change she had wished to bring had faltered and had been replaced with worry and fear of inadequacy. Meiya had not been capable of protecting Takeru, nor her own sister. What strength could she draw on to do something so radical as to change the way the government of Japan worked?

"Yuuhi-sama..." Mana stepped forward in an attempt to comfort her.

"Your Highness," Ikaruga cut her off with some choice words of his own, "the fault is no more your own than mine. All members of the Regent houses are tasked with upholding the power of the Shogunate and its use to support the people of Japan. There is no need to take the weight all on your own."

His eyes pierced them both with an overwhelming sense of conviction. It was enough for some light to return to Meiya's smile, at least.

"As always, Ikaruga-dono, I thank you for your support."

Ikaruga rejoined them, standing merely a hairsbreadth from the Shogun. His height gave him a significant advantage over her in terms of sheer presence. Still, Meiya's stalwart features presented an image of strength all on their own.

He swept her hand from her lap, lowering his head. "It is only natural, Yuuhi-sama, for someone in _my _position to support you."

In a simple yet forward gesture, the man kissed the back of her hand. He disregarded the obvious displeasure of the Shogun's guard and instead studied Meiya's eyes with his own. Her reaction was one of surprise and thinly veiled discomfort, but it satisfied him all the same.

"Your Highness." Ikaruga bowed and excused himself.

Mana found herself barely unable to hold her tongue until he had left them alone. Regardless of his rank or position, making such an intimate gesture was the equivalent of assault. She was one of the few aware of Meiya's displeasure with Ikaruga, and she could not help but share it based on his disgustingly forward acts.

No matter how much she respected Ikaruga for his actions, his demeanor was no better than a thug in his attempts to court Meiya.

"Yuuhi-sama, you should not have allowed him to do such a thing."

Meiya continued to watch the building her fellow noble had disappeared into. Her shoulders sagged as her energy was lost from the stressful moment.

"Forgive him, Tsukuyomi. There is little to be done about it."

"But, that permission is not for someone like him. Takeru-sama-" Mana quieted as she was faced with a stern visage from her superior.

Meiya sighed, exasperated. "That is enough."

Rather than anger, Meiya's voice was laced with sorrow.

"The Takeru that has returned to us is not the same as he was before," she whispered, as if to hide the fact even from herself. "Whether that is a permission he even desires, is not our place to say."

"Meiya-sama..." Mana said.

She could not help but utter her name; the sheer heartache that tore at Meiya's chest could be felt even by her.

"Besides," Meiya smiled, though her voice betrayed her heartache, "the gift I gave him has been forgotten. With it, goes the chance of reconciliation of our feelings."

A tear escaped from the corner of the shogun's eye. She was thankful there were no other servants nearby, as she would not have been able to hold in her emotions any longer. Truly, her heart had become weak if she could not resist such emotions.

_Takeru..._

* * *

An awkward silence had settled over the room since the two occupants had arrived. One was trying to formulate a question from the dozens he had prepared, while the other was still struggling to understand what mess she had gotten into.

Takeru found himself on the opposite end of a table from Sumika, the girl that had been his closest friend since childhood. In the previous world, she was nowhere to be found, just as his instance in that universe was also missing. With all the horrors that inhabited that place, he had come to be relieved by that fact.

When he saw her in the hangar for the first time in what felt like years, he had been forced to his knees in shock. What more had changed since he had awakened in this new world? For some reason, he felt compelled to ask that exact question to Sumika, as if she would have the answer.

Seeing her in that dress uniform made him uncomfortable. It was nothing like what he was used to.

"Um...excuse me," Sumika whispered, afraid to raise her voice.

Takeru's concentration was broken temporarily. "Ah, what is it?"

Maya stood watch on the outside of the small office they had taken over. No doubt she would come barging in if she so much as suspected Sumika of doing anything remotely "aggressive". She was still in the same boat that Sumika had physically caused him some kind of harm, but Takeru had tried his best to assuage everyone's concerns during the aftermath.

"What was it you wanted to discuss with me, sir?" she asked, clearly still high-strung from the earlier altercation.

Of course, she still had no idea who he was. It must have been uncomfortable, forced to sit in a room with someone who almost got you charged with treason.

It had been quite a shock when he had hugged Sumika in front of everyone. At the time, Takeru had not really considered the consequences of his actions: he was simply relieved to see her. Of course, he had to quickly recover when Maya asked him why he had touched another girl intimately. He came up with the excuse that Sumika looked familiar to someone he once knew, and that he wanted to ask her a few questions about any history they might have.

Technically, it was not much of a lie.

"I wanted to ask you how you came to be a part of the military." His arms folded together as he tried to seem distant. "The girl you remind me of was never interested in that sort of thing."

Upon his request, Sumika's eyes fell to her lap. The sudden mood change told him that he was about to hear yet another unpleasant change in history. He was right to say that his world's Sumika would never join the military. Perhaps, this world's Sumika had been the same way, up until a certain event.

"Ah, I...see," she said, after a significant pause. "Well, before I joined the military I lived in Yokohama with my parents."

At the mention of Sumika's mother and father, she bit her lip. The hands in her lap wrung each other from her nervous fidgeting.

"When the draft age was lowered, I was sent to boot camp in 1998. While I was there, I came up with a silly plan to pretend to be sick to go home, but I didn't go through with it. My parents were sad to see me go with all the talk of the BETA invasion, but they still supported me."

That sounded about right, though he wondered what made her not go through with her plan. Any doctor would be able to tell if she was faking, but there were other ways to be excused. Of course, it was harder considering the need for as many pilots and soldiers as the country could muster, but Sumika had a similar level of determination to his own that would help her see something like that through to the end.

"When I graduated, I planned to take the time I had and spend it with my family. Unfortunately, the BETA advanced farther inland at a rate no one could have predicted. My parents..." Her face hardened as she resisted the feelings welling inside of her.

His heart went out to Sumika as she was unable to continue. The more she spoke, the harder it became to hold back the sobs that welled inside of her. It made him regret even bringing the topic up.

To her credit, Sumika recovered herself rather quickly. That training she received had hardened her somewhat. She was still able to cry, but it served as more of a reminder than an act of mourning. The loss of her parents had given her a new direction, a direction she must not have had in the previous world.

"In their memory," Sumika continued. "I put my all into the training and aptitude tests to ensure I became someone who could make a difference. An eishi."

Pride oozed from her pores, and Takeru could barely recognize the timid girl she once was.

"With that kind of determination, you must have caught someone's eye," he said.

"Captain Sagiri had been an observer at one of my combat exercises. He said he had never seen such reckless behavior succeed and reprimanded me, despite my win outnumbered by three enemy TSFs. He recommended me to the Fuji Tactical Training Group for what he considered a 'real lesson' in piloting."

Takeru could not recall the group off the top of his head, but he figured they must have been influential enough for Sagiri to respect them. If she was already turning heads, working with an elite unit must have really brought her to the next level. After her description of the exercise, he wanted to know just how skilled Sumika was with a TSF. She had never been particularly impressive at Valgern-on, and she made it a point to guilt him into studying rather than play games whenever she got the chance.

"I learned a lot from my time there. The instructors really were tough on me, and I'd often get made fun of for the habits I picked up after first being drafted. I figured out the difference between a recruit and soldier fast. Captain Sagiri came back often to check on my progress, and when I was recommended to be shifted to a new unit, he took me under his wing." Finally, he got to see a rare smile break through her otherwise stern features.

She spoke of the captain fondly. The interest he had shown must have meant a lot to Sumika. After losing her parents, the military was all she had left. Takeru had not been around to be with her in Yokohama in this world. Without him to accompany her, she must have been lonely. It would have explained why things turned out so differently than the last time.

Takeru stood up from the desk, his hand out for her to shake. "Thank you for telling me your story. You really aren't the girl I knew after all. I'm sorry for the trouble."

Sumika looked at his outstretched arm and then back at his eyes, frozen. He could have sworn she had begun to sweat as she tormented herself over what response to make.

"Um...I, sir..." She stuttered in a cutely flustered way.

_Perhaps you aren't all that different._

Takeru brought his arm back and instead formed a salute. His body became stiff as he stood at attention, his eyes beckoning for her to join him.

Finally, Sumika found the strength to stand and quickly mimicked his actions. There was some comfort in doing something that had become so second nature for her. The less she had to agonize over whether to touch him or not was probably better for her health, anyway.

He took one last look at her and marveled at just how much she starkly contrasted the Sumika that inhabited his mind. Throughout the entirety of their conversation, her proximity brought on a constant barrage of memories from his old world, and the world he had inhabited before this one. It was like she was the key to a floodgate of emotions that had been welling up inside of him for so long, and it was high time for a release.

Rather than break his resolve, Sumika's presence only made his desires to return stronger. To return meant that he would win the war and finish the BETA, once and for all. If he did that, then even the Sumika right in front of him would be safe from harm.

It was the least he could do for his old friend.

"You are dismissed, lieutenant Kagami!" Takeru said.

"Yes sir!"

The room echoed the clicking sounds of boots on a hard floor as she left in a quick fashion. No doubt to debrief Sagiri and Komaki, who were less than eager to turn her over to the Guard for their private time. He hoped that his presence had not bothered her in the short time they met.

With luck, it would be a long while until he saw her again.

_Let it be on the other side, in the old world. I'll be sure to bother you lots._

* * *

Takeru and Maya returned to the Shogun's place of stay much later than what was agreed upon. Luckily, the dutiful guard had been sure to inform her cousin of the reasons why, and so the shogun would not be so concerned. Still, the importance of the meeting surely remained, and so Takeru was slated to meet with Meiya as soon as he arrived at the palace.

As they entered the grounds, the guard compliment had begun their rounds for the night. Redcoats moved in pairs with rifles at the ready, scanning the walls and gates surrounding the large, traditional building in the middle of the grounds. More stood their ground at choke points, balconies, and at the main entrance to the shogun's abode.

Takeru saluted them as he passed by, unobstructed. At such a late hour, it took more than special permission to see the commander in chief of the Japanese military. There was nothing about his presence there that screamed ordinary.

"This way, Takeru-sama," Maya said, taking the lead in the labyrinthine structure.

It was not long before they arrived in front of another set of sliding doors, attended to by two kneeling servants. Without a word shared, they pulled the door open and allowed the imperial guards' entry.

Takeru entered first with Maya close behind as the doors shut behind them. The room was sparse of much decoration as it was another audience chamber of some kind. Across the room stood Meiya and Mana, still in their uniforms from earlier in the day. Takeru stiffened somewhat at the thought that he had made them wait in such an uncomfortable condition.

"We have returned, Your Highness." Maya bowed and then knelt before Meiya. "My deepest apologies for the considerable delay."

"There is no need to apologize, Maya. I received your message of the...events that caused your delay." Meiya shifted uncomfortably, her eyes sullen. "Takeru, I hope you have found this trip rewarding so far."

Something in her tone of voice told him that he was in trouble. He figured something had gone wrong with how everyone reacted to his sudden embrace of Sumika, but he did not think it would be something to reach the shogun. The last thing he wanted to do was make things difficult for Meiya, though it looked as if he did just that.

"My apologies, Yuuhi-sama," Takeru said as he knelt. "I did not mean to make trouble for you. It was just...overwhelming to see a familiar person after so long."

From behind her, Mana gave Meiya a piece of paper. Her eyes scanned it for a moment before her gaze returned to him. There was a certain pressure she was giving off as Meiya no longer looked uncomfortable, but rather prickly. The aura surrounding the shogun was dangerous.

"Kagami Sumika, an eishi attached to the 1st Tactical Armor Regiment. I have not had the pleasure of meeting her, though she must be quite nice," Meiya said, her words uncharacteristically harsh.

A bitter aftertaste remained. Was that sarcasm? He had never known Meiya to be insecure or jealous before. She rarely ever considered his interactions with others in anything but a positive light. Was it really such a terrible thing to hug someone?

He raised a brow. "Your Highness?"

Takeru had no idea how to respond. Even Mana seemed distressed by the change.

Meiya dismissed him with a wave."No matter, there is little point in having such an exhausting conversation this late. Please get some rest, this business can be dealt with tomorrow." Meiya turned away from him and briskly walked through another set of doors, out of sight.

Mana shared a glance with Maya before she proceeded after the distraught girl. It would not be good to leave her alone in such a terrible mood. The conversation was cut off so suddenly, it was uncomfortable for everyone.

Takeru remained where he was, trying to process what had just happened. Where had he gone wrong? He must have been a real idiot to hurt Meiya's feelings like that. His shoulders sagged in exasperation; that exchange had really drained him of energy.

"Takeru-sama, perhaps-" Maya, who had been standing beside Takeru's kneeling form, tried to comfort him. She was cut off when he stood up and left the room without another word.

Just as Mana could not leave Meiya alone, Maya would not abandon her charge so easily. She proceeded after him in an effort to deescalate the situation. The tension between the shogun and her retainers was not something that should have be allowed to linger.

Whether he liked it or not, Takeru was someone of great importance to Meiya. Her outburst of emotion in the audience chamber, as minute as it may have been, proved it. Only someone close to her could break through her training: the calm facade she so often used to portray the Shogunate.

Maya would have to support the Takeru who still could not remember himself or his place a while longer. Once his memories returned, he would know how to handle such situations more appropriately.

_And perhaps he will think twice before making Her Highness jealous..._

* * *

Maya found Takeru after he left a trail of opened doors in his wake. He stood on one of the balconies of the castle's exterior, watching the moon rise into the sky above.

Takeru made no move to address her as she quietly approached. Only when she stood next to him did he even spare her a glance. What he had on his mind was more pressing than conversation.

"Takeru-sama, is there something wrong? You left the room so suddenly."

He spread his arms against the guard rail, staring at the ground below. "I'm fine...just thinking about a few things."

"Perhaps I can be of some assistance," Maya said, patiently waiting.

"..." It was when he realized she was not going to leave that he finally gave in, sighing. "I feel like I'm wasting my time here. Nothing I've done has been helpful, in fact I think I'm just making things worse for Meiya."

Maya flinched at his intimate name calling of the shogun, but accepted it. There were more pressing concerns to deal with. It was true the past two weeks had been relatively uneventful for soldiers like them, but that was how it often was when attending to the Shogun. Rarely did any of the official events feel particularly interesting to the soldiers attending them.

"You are correct that things have been slow since you have awoken. Yuuhi-sama simply does not want you to overexert yourself so soon. And..." She shifted her weight onto the balcony rail. "I would not say the shogun is angry but, perhaps displeased with your actions. I should not say more."

"Heh, I already figured that much out," Takeru said, wearing a wry smile. "But all the same, I feel like the only way to avoid something like this happening is to get some distance between me and her. I'm not into politics, and I'd probably just make her life more difficult."

"Takeru-sama," Maya murmured.

Admitting such weaknesses in front of her was not something she was expecting.

He turned to lean his back against the rail. "Besides, I want to get back out to the front. I've been out of practice for too long and it's like I'm just wasting away standing here, far away from a TSF."

"I understand your frustration. I too have been away from my machine for too long," Maya said.

Since Takeru's coma, she had been relegated to personal guard duty. That left her little time to attend to the squadron or any TSF for that matter. As a trained and tested pilot in the field of battle, there was a certain itch escort duty could not match. She longed to once again sit in her Takemikazuchi and take it to battle.

Takeru met her gaze. "So, you'll support me if I propose it to Meiya?"

His sudden request left her floored. Did he truly mean to bring it to the shogun's attention? It would not go over well considering her condition.

Meiya had always been protective of Takeru's well-being, and having him leave for the front when she got to spend so little time with him would be more than troublesome. Her feelings were more fragile than he might have believed.

"Takeru-sama, are you sure that is such a good idea? Considering Her Highness's current disposition, she is likely to reject it."

"Funny, I thought she might just accept it out of spite," he said, laughing.

Takeru's smile told her he was trying to make a joke, though Maya found it was not a laughing matter.

"Before you say something to talk me out of it," he said, "let me remind you that I'm doing this just as much for Meiya as I am myself. I'm no good to her just standing around and making a fool of myself; you and Mana said it yourselves: I'm a pretty good pilot, right?"

That was true. Takeru had displayed great skill in combat and had the makings of becoming a great commander before his incident during Lucifer. Even still, Maya was concerned he was trying to go too far, too fast.

"If that is your decision, I will stand by you. However, allow me to tell you something that you may have already picked up on." Maya's eyes narrowed as she adjusted her specs. "Yuuhi-sama is weak, perhaps even broken inside."

Maya's forwardness took him back for a moment. It was true though that he had picked up on something being very different from the noble soul he was used to seeing shine through in Meiya. The emotions she put on display were now hollow, her youthful energy lost. The extreme reaction to earlier events was something he was not expecting from the usual Meiya.

"Mana and I noticed it shortly after you fell into the coma. It was at that point 'Meiya-sama' became 'Yuuhi-sama' and all the responsibilities of Shogun were thrust onto her. Without you at her side, something inside of her was left behind on the battlefield at Yokohama. We believe it was her fighting spirit, something her older sister had always envied."

Older sister? They must have been talking about the Yuuhi person. He had no idea what kinds of historical changes had led to their situation up until that point, but it sounded like Meiya went through a lot. At the age of fourteen, it must have been more than tough.

"So, what does that have to do with me?" Takeru asked.

"We had hoped that your return would bring that strength back to her, but she has not gotten better. If anything, her desire to not lose you again is making her look away from her own problems." Maya moved away from the balcony, her hands clasped behind her.

"The reason I will support you in this measure is because I hope it will be enough to shock Her Highness into action. If we allow her to settle for the status quo, we will never see a return to her early days."

"Would that be pushing her too far?" Takeru shifted uncomfortably, remembering the breakdown Meiya had in the hospital.

The last thing he wanted to do was make things worse.

There was a significant pause as Maya thought over her response, before she finally shrugged and spoke freely.

"I do not know, however, her current state is unacceptable as Shogun. For the sake of the people and for herself, we must do whatever we can to rouse her spirit back to her."

If Meiya was not going to improve while he was around, perhaps him taking matters into his own hands was the best course of action.

More than that though, his memories of the other world clung to him like sweat after a bad dream. The invasion of Niigata: it would not be long before the BETA would renew their attack on humanity. His transfer to the front would let him get right in their way, and maybe shift the odds in humanity's favor.

Not only that, but it would put him a step closer to Yokohama base, and Yuuko-sensei. Even if he won the battle, the war would be lost if he did not help complete Alternative IV. Whatever it took, he had to get there so he could save this world.

"Alright then. Let's go and tell her," Takeru said. He walked past Maya and headed back out the way he came.

"Eh, but Takeru-sama-" She called after him, only to see him lingering by the door.

Takeru scratched the back of his head, chuckling. "Hehe, actually you should take the lead. I don't remember the way I came to get here."

Maya found herself weakened for a moment as she resisted the urge to laugh. His odd charm had not worn off with bed rest, at least.

"Very well. Please follow me, Takeru-sama."

Maya led him out and back the way they came, to Meiya's room. United with one goal, their plan was to make Meiya accept his request no matter what.

For everyone's sake, it was the only option.

* * *

Since the last time they had entered the room, all the servants had been cleared out. The only sounds Takeru could make out were the faint conversation between who he could only guess were Meiya and Mana. They were on the opposite side of a screen door, and the thin paper made it easy for them to pick up on what sounded like the end of a heated conversation.

"...for the sake of the Shogunate, I cannot delay forever," Meiya said, sighing.

"Meiya-sama, please reconsider. The pressure they put on you is merely a play for power. Do not forget your promise to him," Mana pleaded.

Maya stiffened at the words of her cousin. Takeru sent a glance her way, wondering whether she had picked up on the context of the conversation. He was completely in the dark.

"I have never forgotten, Tsukuyomi. If anything, this might be for the best. To delay further would simply bring more trouble for him."

"Meiya-sama," Mana whispered.

"I will not make assumptions of anyone's feelings simply for my own sake. Takeru...he will find his own way, like always."

_Me?_

So the conversation had something to do with him? It made him somewhat uncomfortable knowing others were talking about him while he was away; it did not help he still had no idea what they meant. Maya seemed particularly tight-lipped about it, though she never tried to announce their presence.

Did she think it was important for him to hear?

"Yuuhi-sama, may we enter?" Maya said. She raised her voice so that it would carry through the door.

"Eh, Maya? Have you returned?" Meiya called out, surprised by the sudden intrusion.

"Yes, I have brought Takeru-sama with me." Maya glanced at him, then back at the door. "He wishes to say something."

"Ah-, that is...very well. Come in."

With the go ahead, the doors were slid open to reveal Meiya sitting on the edge of her bed, covered in bed sheets. She watched as they entered, paying particular attention to Takeru's eyes and where they were directed.

It looked as though she were blushing under the covers. Had they come in at a bad time?

Mana stood nearby, sullen. It seemed she lost all desire to talk after the abrupt end to the previous conversation. No doubt, she would change her tune when she heard what he had to say.

"Your Highness," Maya said, bowing.

Takeru joined her in the gesture of respect, though he said nothing. It was already hard enough to come up with the best way to broach the subject. If what Maya said was true, Meiya would not be a fan of the idea of him being put in harm's way.

Unfortunately, it had to be done.

"What is it you wanted to say, Takeru?" Meiya asked, gesturing for them to rise with her hand.

All anger she had earlier had been lost. If anything, she sounded more submissive than anything. Their sudden appearance must have stolen her voice and any lingering annoyance.

"Me-" Takeru paused, reconsidering his choice of words. "Yuuhi-sama, I wish to return to active duty."

He had to get some advice from Maya on how best to word it. Given the shock illustrated on Meiya's now fully revealed face, it seemed to have translated rather well. Not even Mana was able to hide her surprise at his request.

"Yo-you...what?" Meiya could not believe the words that had been uttered.

Takeru swallowed, fearful of the repercussions of repeating the words. "I want to head back to the front, Meiya. I'm no good just standing around here. Right now, I'm just causing trouble for you."

"Takeru-sama, perhaps-" Mana started to say something, but was cut off by a glare.

From Maya, no less. That silent communication between family members was enough to quiet any further protest.

"What has brought on this request? Are you dissatisfied here, Takeru? I admit, my actions earlier were immature, but to..."

Meiya devolved into a rant as she tried to ask for clarification. She stopped herself when she looked into his eyes and realized he was not kidding.

"To help you, I think it's best if I get back into the pilot's seat. Since I woke up, I can't remember anything about politics or etiquette, so it's just a matter of time until I do something serious and mess up." Takeru looked away, ashamed. "I'm sorry for what I did today, but I still don't know what I did wrong. I don't want to be useless anymore."

"Do you...not wish to be at my side?" Meiya whispered, her voice had gone out like a candle in the wind.

Takeru quickly picked up on the change in her tone. The last thing he wanted to do was make her cry.

"N-no! It's just...I can't help but think that if the BETA attacked tomorrow, then I'd be completely useless to do anything. I wouldn't be able to protect you, or the people you care about. How can I call myself a vassal if I can't even do that much?"

Contrary to her initial surprise, Mana soon began to smile. His words were more than enough to prove to her his conviction. Maya was right to put her faith in him.

They looked to Meiya for her decision, knowing full well how difficult it would be for her to let go.

_Please, Meiya-sama...you must feel it too. Takeru-sama's feelings._

There was a considerable pause. A strand of cold sweat slid down Takeru's back as the tension got to him.

"If you would," Meiya said, "heed this selfish request of mine."

Takeru tried to look into her eyes, but Meiya hid them in her own arms. She must have wanted to avoid them seeing her cry, as it was obvious she was holding back sobs with the way her body wracked against itself.

Takeru called out to her. "Your Highness?"

"Please, wait until we return to Tokyo. Then, I will give you permission." Meiya finally allowed them to see her face. Tears stained her pristine skin.

The decision was made, though it did not come easy for her. To have him stay would merely reveal her personal bias, so she had no choice but to go along with it. What Takeru observed though told him that Meiya had truly become overly sensitive to him and his safety. It must have been connected with her condition concerning Yokohama.

That weakness, he wanted to burn it right out of her. The best way to do that was to show her he could stand on his own two feet.

Takeru would protect her and not the other way around. The place to start was to return to his roots and become what he was best at: an eishi. With whatever machine the Imperial Guard used, he would carve a path through the BETA.

If it was for his friends, he would not stop until it was all over.

* * *

_Tokyo, Japan_

A single car drove along an empty road on that cold, autumn day. The city of Tokyo was quiet, but not dormant by any means. The large compound the vehicle pulled up to revealed dozens of soldiers and even a few TSFs moving in the background.

"We have arrived at the Imperial Guard barracks, Takeru-sama," Maya said as the car came to a stop.

Takeru looked out his window and realized just how close he was. Returning to the military like that felt particularly nostalgic to the last loop, when he first arrived at Yokohama base. The knot in his stomach would not go away from how anxious he was.

On the one hand, he was completely terrified that he would make a mistake and be judged for it by the men and women of the base. At the same time, he could feel the memories of his days in the training simulator and the real exercises where he piloted the Fubuki: they beckoned him to return to the cockpit.

Maya led him into the base, past the administrative facilities and straight to the hangars. Inside, just as it was in Kyoto, mechanics and pilots hustled about in their maintenance duties. Rather than see the usual muted color scheme of the Army, Takeru was assaulted by a variety of colors in the pilot suits and the mechs.

"Wow..." His eyes could not help but wander to the ceiling as he looked the TSFs up and down.

_Takemikazuchi_...

A flashback assaulted his mind of the first time he saw one—Meiya's gift from the shogun, the purple variant. The ones in front of him were all manner of colors: reds, whites, and grays. At the far end of the hangar, he thought he could even spy a hint of gold edging out from behind one of the docking berths.

The pilot suits themselves were associated with the colors of their TSFs, just as the coat he wore was associated with his rank. Surely, he had a suit as well of similar design waiting for him.

"This way, Takeru-sama."

Leaving the ground level, they went into one of the stairwells and ascended to the top floor. It was there that pilots would suit up and be able to enter their TSF cockpits via the extendable balconies that doubled as locking mechanisms to hold the fighters in place.

They exited the corridor and arrived at a new set of doors. A few pilots of the opposite gender passed by, saluting as they did. Takeru returned the favor, and he could not help but have his eyes linger on the female frame, so well accentuated in the fortified suits of the Guard.

"Takeru-sama, in here will be your suit. The locker should retain your name plaque." Maya indicated the door on their left while she moved to the one on the right.

Takeru hesitated at the door, his eyes wandering to the women's locker room. A perverted thought came to mind.

_I wonder...if I could get away with...no. Definitely not._

He shook his head clear of such thoughts and proceeded inside. Takeru had already come close to dying, he did not want to push his luck.

Inside was what he remembered from his experience on the UN base; a locker room, just as anyone would expect. He wandered the place, looking for his name and trying his best to avoid the attention of the few other men in the room. Most did not know of his 'amnesia', and Takeru feared that if anyone recognized him, they would find his inability to remember them suspicious.

"Ah, here..." Takeru whispered to himself. The right one had been found thanks to the name plaque above.

The lock was a combination, and he quickly solved it by using the same password he used on his old school locker. It seemed he shared a similar thought process with this world's Takeru as far as such things went.

The cabinet swung open to reveal a fortified suit, covered in a resplendent golden yellow. It was a bit more bulky than the UN one, but he figured it had something to do with the same flashiness found in the Guard's dress uniform. It was intimidating and it stood out in the crowd in comparison to the other branches, so he guessed it made sense.

When he went to grab the armor, it brushed something else that was inside the otherwise bare container. A long, thin object came toppling out and made a loud clack on the concrete floor. Takeru set the armor aside on a nearby bench and knelt down to unwrap the purple velvet that was around the item.

"What is..." Takeru's eyes widened as he caught glimpse of a familiar gold seal that acted as the weapon's hilt.

_This blade was gifted to me by someone I treasure deeply. Its name...is Minaru Kamui._

Intimately familiar words began to play in his mind as more memories returned to him. It was Meiya, from his old world. He could see her, flashing between the school uniform of Hakuryou and that of the UN fortified suit. The two Meiya's began to blend and mix as his mind lost itself.

_Takeru, I want you to have this._

_Do not return it to me. Can you not tell my feelings? Can you not tell everyone's feelings?_

_Takeru...I love you._

"Guh!"

A loud batting noise came as his shoulder hit the metal locker. The sudden flood of memories had weakened his body and made him fall against the metal. Takeru held his head in an attempt to nurse the ache, but it did not change the fact that the blade in front of him had been a powerful catalyst for visons from his past.

Some of them he thought might have even been from this world's Takeru, as he could not recognize some of the places he saw Meiya standing in. One looked like a zen garden and another even resembled the hill behind Hakuryou, though it could have been his mind mixing similar locales.

"..." Takeru picked up the blade and carefully repackaged it in the wrapping. He placed it back inside and shut the locker.

There would be a time for answers later. Perhaps Mana could tell him more behind the significance of the blade, and why it was in his possession. For now, he had to focus on the present and get prepared.

Maya had spent the past day scrambling the squadron for immediate launch, given Takeru's insistence that they launch before the 11th. Of course, he could not explain why or give the exact date he wanted to be present in Niigata, but thanks to his efforts they were well on their way to changing history.

Well, at least that was the plan.

Takeru quickly began the process of putting on the suit. He had a bit of trouble fitting the large neck collar on, but finally the uniform and its supplemented armor was locked in place. His hand brushed the back of his neck where the tightening mechanism activated and made the suit fit around his form. It quickly felt like a second skin as the black membrane wrapped around his body and synced with his new physical data.

"Takeru-sama?" A feminine voice beckoned for him outside.

When he exited, he had to take a moment to look over Maya, who stood before him in a similar dress. She wore the same fortified suit, though hers was a crimson red, and it supported her rather toned figure well. More than that though, she had tied her long turquoise hair into a bun, similar to the one Mana wore in his old world. Considering the length of her hair, it must have often got in the way during piloting maneuvers. He could not help but be dazzled by her martial beauty.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked. The hand on her hip made it look like she had picked up onto his ogling, and he dared not look into her surely judgmental glare.

"No, not at all!" Takeru stuttered, looking away.

Maya let it pass as she indicated he follow her. The butterflies in his stomach returned as they headed back out into the hangar and walked down the long balcony down to the very end. Though it had been kept in the corner, he could already see that the splendid shine of his machine had been kept up thanks to constant maintenance.

Maya stopped right in front of the cockpit block, giving Takeru the chance to look at what could only be his personal TSF. A golden Takemikazuchi glared back down at him, its eye slits colored a faded mauve. The sheer influence it emanated was palpable for even someone as ignorant him to pick up on. There was no wonder why the Imperial Guard used such a majestic, yet terrifying piece of machinery such as that.

Takeru had to remind himself that it really was _his_ machine. It took a while for that fact to settle into his mind. He remembered being amazed by the thought of a personal machine like Meiya's, even though he was made fun of by the others for the impracticality of the idea. Though the mech in front of him surely could be piloted by someone else, he knew that only one person had ever sat inside that cockpit. That thought alone held a great amount of power behind it.

"Your Takemikazuchi has been maintained with great care in preparation for this day, Takeru-sama. I recommend you begin syncing your pilot suit data immediately and get comfortable with the controls," Maya said.

As his adjutant and guardian, it was her duty to oversee his well-being. She was right to say that he needed to get readjusted to a machine he had never piloted before. Unless the muscle memory took over again, he would have to get used to the new balance of the superior Takemikazuchi.

"I will go and check on the others. Please find me if you need anything." She bowed and dismissed herself.

"Alright, thanks Maya," Takeru said softly, completely lost in his own world. He was not able to take his eyes off of what laid before him.

Maya froze in annoyance when she heard him casually speak her name without an honorific. When she turned to reprimand him, she saw him still standing in the same spot. Maya let slip a small grin and decided to forgive him, considering how lost in the reunion he was.

After a while, Takeru finally decided to get inside. When he leaned over to grab the golden chest plate for a handhold, the material suddenly turned into a dark gray underneath his hand. His vision blurred and Takeru felt himself falling over. He looked back up at the head unit and saw it had changed shape; its color had become more mute, and the head armor had been cut down for a simpler, more angular design.

Perturbed, he brought his hand up to his head to clear it. The fortified suit glove had turned a dark gray as well, and he realized just how dazed he was. Was he reliving another memory from his old world? He did not remember anything of the sort happening to him before.

Takeru blinked a few times and the world had color again.

_That was more than weird._

Carefully, he tried to enter the cockpit again and was more successful. Inside, a pale blue light from the computer monitors illuminated the interior. He eased himself back into the seat and felt the suit lock in. Takeru's memory served him well as he pressed a few buttons on the right hand terminal and brought up an updated HUD display as the TSF powered up. A low hum could be heard as data scrolled across his eyes and the metal chassis rumbled around him.

Takeru's hands gripped the levers reverently. "Alright old friend...let's get reacquainted."

* * *

"Takeru-sama!"

Over half an hour later, Takeru breathed in sharply when he heard someone shout his name in distress. He unlocked his suit and exited the Takemikazuchi to find a particularly odd sight: an out of breath Maya.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Th-the Shogun, Her Highness is outside. She wishes to see us off."

Takeru's brow furrowed, he had not been expecting that. Meiya had been pretty quiet since they had left Kyoto together, no doubt unhappy with his chosen arrangements. She had not directly voiced her grievances with him, but her cold shoulder told him all he needed to know.

To hear that she was here to see him, made him feel better. Maybe she was coming around.

"Let's go then."

"Yes. I have assembled the other pilots down below." Maya said, her breathing having returned to normal.

Takeru looked over the edge and saw the other members of his squadron waiting near the doors. They looked fidgety even from that distance. It was not every day they were to receive the Shogun's blessing, after all.

It was not good to keep her waiting, so Takeru and Maya led everyone outside as soon as they got down to ground level. They were welcomed by what seemed like the entire Imperial Guard compliment of the base, arranged in parade formation. Even the TSFs, a couple of Zuikaku, had stopped their training and stood at attention in the grounds.

In the middle of it all was Meiya, accompanied by Mana and a few other redcoats. Once again, she wore her military parade uniform and stood tall among her closest retainers. As soon as Takeru exited, she quickly locked onto his golden armor and her body naturally turned toward him.

She approached their assembly, making the others behind him stiffen. Maya quickly took responsibility of the squadron, given Takeru's inexperience with commanding others.

"Squadron, form a line!"

The pilots quickly followed her order and entered into a quick formation where they stood shoulder to shoulder. Everyone saluted the Shogun and stood at attention as she approached.

"Your Highness," Takeru said, "it is a pleasure to see you here."

"I felt that it would be best to see off the Guardsmen heading to the front, for it is a rare occurrence in the garrison force. If you would, commander, allow me to speak with your men."

In front of others, they had to keep up a facade of indifference. Inside though, they were having their own conversation that only they could translate.

_Meiya, I'm glad you made it._

_I would never miss your departure, Takeru._

"Of course, Your Highness. Go ahead."

With that permission given, Meiya moved to the end of the line and began to speak with each pilot. She would take their hands into her own and wish them luck in their journey. It was a simple blessing, but the effect it had on their morale was already obvious. Those she had already spoken to stood a little straighter, their mission made all the more important.

When she arrived at Maya, who stood just to the right of Takeru, the conversation was much the same. There was just one small change that seemed to weigh heavily on the shogun as her shoulders tensed.

"Tsukuyomi Maya, I bid you to have a safe journey and to succeed at your mission. Please, keep in mind your previous commitments and do not fail in them."

Takeru thought for sure Meiya's eyes shifted toward Takeru when she asked the last part.

Maya made a crisp salute. "I will carry out my tasks without fail, Your Highness!" The response was filled with even greater vigor than usual.

"Thank you." Meiya turned to Takeru and took the few steps necessary to stand before him.

Finally, they were staring face to face again. When she held out her hand, it was a clear invitation that he would be a fool to decline. He wrapped her small hand in his own, giving it a comforting squeeze.

"Shirogane Takeru, as my vassal, I ask that you carry out your mission without fail and return safely. Do not falter, and remember that the people of Japan stand with you in your fight."

_Just as I stand with you._

Takeru bowed his head, acknowledging her order. "I will carry out my mission and return to Tokyo safely, Your Highness."

"Very well then, I will hold you no longer. Goodbye."

When she went to pull away, Takeru's grip kept her from moving. There was a moment's pause where everyone looked at Takeru, perplexed. The smile that crept onto his face was only directed toward Meiya, however.

"With respect, Your Highness, if you would like to see your vassal again, might it be better to say 'See you' rather than 'Goodbye'?"

Meiya inhaled sharply as she remembered something. No doubt, she had said something analogous to the other Takeru, just as the Meiya of his world told him the same. The last words he spoke to Meiya in those worlds were the same thing, and in this world it would be no different. He would see her again, for sure.

"..." Meiya finally gave her response by squeezing his hand, tight. "Then, I will see you soon."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Takeru and Meiya shared a parting smile before he stepped back and saluted. Maya dismissed the squadron back into the hangar, as it was almost time for them to leave. He was the last to leave as he sent one last glance to Mana. A few words were transmitted between them as the two groups went their separate ways.

_Take care of Meiya. _

Takeru's heart and mind were together in their thoughts.

_And you, with Maya._

Family bonds were hard to break.

* * *

Behind a dark wood desk, stacked with far too many papers to count, a young woman reviewed a series of documents. Her eyes narrowed after reading over a certain detail and she shut the folder in frustration. A loud sigh carried throughout the room as she came close to throwing a childish tantrum.

"Ugh, these damn equations..."

A loud beep resounded in the room, emanating from the thick steel door that acted as the entrance to the messy office.

"Ma'am?" Over the intercom, a woman's voice carried over.

"Isumi?" She shook her head, focusing back on the computer in front of her. "Come in."

The door slid open with a hiss to reveal another woman, some years younger than the first. The bars on her UN dress uniform indicated she was a captain, an impressive rank. Furthermore, the winged medallion indicated that the redhead was in fact a pilot, giving her even greater influence.

Yet still, the person named Isumi saluted the other woman after arriving in front of the desk. In her free arm was a manila folder, no doubt containing important documents of some kind.

"Doctor, I have the report you asked for."

The researcher gave her a quizzical look before something popped into her head. Her eyes narrowed in recognition as she reached out to receive the folder. Quickly, she sifted through the contents while Isumi patiently waited.

"Increased BETA activity, eh? What else is new?"

The papers were thrown to the side, no longer interesting.

"Is there anything else, ma'am?" Isumi asked, not fazed at all by the careless manner the confidential papers were handled with. It was something a person got used to when they worked with the Vice Commander of Yokohama base.

There was a pause before the doctor sighed. "No, go ahead and return. I have things to do, as always."

As much as she wanted to entertain herself, too many things were on her mind to play with the captain.

"Understood, I'll head out." Another crisp salute was given and in return was lazily received.

The woman with striking violet hair waited until her subordinate had left the room before she leaned back into her seat in what could only be seen as defeat. Those equations would only cause her headache to worsen, so there was no returning to them. If she were more impressed with the numbers, she might have given the Sadogashima report another look—a shame she was not.

Her sharp eyes took another look at her desk, specifically toward one of the stacks of paper. There was another issue that she had put off for a while. Perhaps it was about time to address it?

Before she even bothered to lean forward and reach for the papers, the doctor hesitated. It would take too much time to sift through the mess of papers that had collected over the many months of constant work. For someone like her, it would be much easier to just explain it from memory.

Rather than search for the particular document, she leaned forward to reach the phone.

_This is going to be such a pain. If only I could get someone to do this part for me._

It had been a while since she typed in the number. She hesitated between the seven and the eight buttons, but she finally remembered and pressed the right one. The phone began to ring after a moment, signaling the successful connection.

A few moments later and a click could be heard over the line. Someone had picked up.

"Mitsuko-nee? You listening?" she asked.

A honey sweet voice responded. "_Ah, Yuuko. You called after so long. Must be some trouble for you to need to speak with little 'ol me."_

Yuuko sighed; family interactions in the Kouzuki household were never easy.

"Just listen for a while, okay? I have something I need to discuss with you." Yuuko brought her free arm over her chest, closing herself off from the world around her.

Her relative's tone lowered, acknowledging Yuuko's concern. "_Clearly. You don't sound particularly enthused. I suppose something must be wrong?"_

"It concerns the personnel on this base," She hesitated, reconsidering her options. "Something like this isn't so easy to speak about over the phone. Can you make it here?"

"_Sounds interesting. What's in it for me?"_

Nothing was ever free, apparently. To help out of the kindness of your heart did not exist between the Kouzuki sisters: that would be too easy.

"A favor to be called in, like always," Yuuko said, already used to such a request.

A short pause ensued before a positive reply was heard.

"_Very well. I'll be there soon. Make sure to prepare for me."_

"Don't mess around like usual. I'd like you to be here at a reasonable time." Yuuko hoped her irritation bled through her sister's thick skin-it would not do if she was going to act like that mysterious fellow, Yoroi.

The phone disconnected and Yuuko sighed from exhaustion. As always, her older sister enjoyed frustrating her to no end. Unfortunately, there was no time for jokes. The concerns she had were bad enough she chose not to speak of them over the phone.

There were unwelcome ears on that base, and she had reason to believe something bigger than Alternative IV was on the horizon. It spelled trouble, no matter how she tried to look past it. Of course, as her life's work, she would not let everything she had built come crumbling down so easily. Mitsuko was the best choice to resolve such problems, even more so than the wishy washy Yoroi.

If she had her way, Yokohama would properly host a manhunt. Loose ends needed to be tidied up before things got out of hand. It was something of a Kouzuki specialty, thankfully.

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Muv Luv.**


	5. Niigata

_Muv Luv: Provenance_

* * *

The sky was set ablaze with dozens of afterburners as the Takemikazuchi of the _Golden Dragons _flew through the clouds. Their destination was an IJA outpost located at the ruins of the old Niigata Airport, which now acted as a forward base against BETA aggression from Sadogashima. In the front of the pack was none other than Shirogane Takeru, the squadron leader and the chief proponent of the mission itself.

Takeru's hands tightened around his control levers as he struggled to adjust to the pure maneuverability that made up the machine around him. Never before had he ever felt something so smooth: never had he felt so in control. It was an overly used cliché to describe a weapon as an extension of oneself, but the analogy held strong in the case with his Type-00F.

To improve TSFs, each generation had become less bulky and more flexible in their movements. Japanese TSFs had always been thought of as overly-sensitive and off-balance by those inexperienced with local training regimens, and Takeru had no doubt that the Takemikazuchi was an embodiment of that role. It acted as the representative of Japanese ingenuity and tactical doctrine; it moved fast, twisted on a dime, and hit with the force of a thousand tons.

It felt so familiar to his Fubuki, yet very alien at the same time. While he could feel the core principles of what made the design of the training TSF so effective, the Takemikazuchi did more than highlight: it pushed those features to their limits. And so, despite his apparent skill with TSFs, Takeru found himself shifting uncomfortably in the seat as his golden machine haphazardly navigated its way across the plain landscape beneath them.

_There is no way I can hide this from the rest of the squadron. I've got to pull it together._

The others were counting on his leadership now more than ever. Though he was the only one who knew, the BETA attack was less than a day away. If he could not even get his own machine under his control, how could he hope to lead any of his fellow pilots to victory? He refused to watch the world burn due to his own incompetence.

"_..."_

Through his pilot suit, Takeru first heard the familiar beep notification of a radio transmission. A moment later, a small box appeared on the edge of his vision—the HUD projected directly over his retina. From the yellow tooltip, Takeru knew it was a priority line sent directly to his TSF between him and someone else. He had a pretty good feeling of who it was as well, considering his flying antics.

With a quick gesture, he opened the channel.

"Dragon-01, here," he said.

"_Dragon-02, reporting in." _They identified themselves with an official tone, but it soon softened._ "Takeru-sama, it is just about time for a routine status report."_

Tsukuyomi Maya, his second in command, spoke to him over the line. He was surprised to find out it was not his piloting that brought her, but his sorely lacking command etiquette. Since Takeru had never been in a formal position of commanding soldiers, at least not for a substantial amount of time, he still had trouble remembering the responsibilities he had as a squadron leader.

Thankfully, he had someone reliable at his back. If it was not for Maya, he would have never made it to Niigata in time. Still, it made him feel terrible that he was forcing extra work onto her. It was almost as if their roles should have been reversed.

_Doubting myself isn't going to improve things. I just have to power through and hope for the best._

"Roger that."

No further questions were asked as the line cut. She was giving him the distance he so desperately needed. There was no telling how he would respond if she had asked if there was something wrong.

Takeru let out an audible sigh before activating his comm. As squadron leader, it was a simple move to open a channel to all of his pilots in one go. It was also possible to make an audio only message over video, but he saw it as a sign of weakness to not show yourself when you spoke. Regardless of how his stomach was tying knots, he wanted to look everyone in the eye.

They were going to fight together, and there was a good chance not everyone would be coming back. He wanted a reminder, no matter how insignificant, of the people who had stood by him on his first mission since waking up.

"Dragon-01 to all dragons, report in."

In front of him, eleven small portraits appeared to show him each pilot in his squadron as they were in their cockpits. All of them looked relatively calm, which was understandable considering their experience with such sorties. That said, the subtle feeling of respect he received by their silent attention toward him was overwhelming. They stiffened with every syllable and made each word worth its weight in gold.

He could not have asked for a better team.

"_Dragon-02, Tsukuyomi Maya, B-flight reporting in. In position."_

Maya was the first to answer, given her being the second-in-command and leader of B-flight. The squadron was a bit oddly organized as, instead of Takeru, Maya took on the role of Gun Interceptor. Considering its flexibility and actual position in the squadron's formation, it was a given the commander would often take that spot, but Takeru knew he was not the best fit for it. Maya's cool head and adaptability would prevail over his.

"_Dragon-03, Sakuma Masako, C-flight reporting in. Ready, on your go."_

Masako was introduced to him formally shortly before they launched from their base in Tokyo. As his subordinate in charge of C-flight, she managed their long-range firepower. The young woman was elegant, the embodiment of royalty, with soft eyes and silk lavender hair. There was a level of maturity she emitted when she spoke, yet it was not harsh to his ears.

"_Dragon-04, Fukahara Rio, of C-flight. Ready."_

"_Dragon-05, Goya Miko, of C-flight. Still in the air."_

"_Dragon-06, Akagi Kozoku, of C-flight. Ready and waiting, sir."_

The rest of the flight reported in after her. The Rush Guards, Blast Guards, and Impact Guards were key to the integrity of the entire formation during combat. Without their withering fusillade of fire, the squadron would collapse under the weight of the unending BETA charge. He would be relying on them a lot in the future, he was sure.

"_Dragon-07, Arata Karin, of B-flight. With you."_

"_Dragon-08, Konda Chisato, of B-flight. In formation."_

"_Dragon-09, Morishita Kenjiro, of B-flight. On your tail."_

Those following Maya would have an excellent balance of forward firepower and flexibility. There was little that could survive the suppressive fire of a Gun Sweeper wielding four Type-87 assault cannons. Following them were the balanced Gun Interceptors who were adept at moving around the formation, adding firepower where needed and accurately controlling the flow of battlefield information.

Before the rest could say anything, Takeru could already feel a bit of pride swell into his chest. It was time for his flight to show themselves. Each of them were honed killing machines against their shared enemy. Only the most experienced and daring pilots were offered a position in the vanguard, and rarely did they disappoint.

"_Dragon-10, Kodama Ringo, of A-flight. On your six, boss."_

"_Dragon-11, Takemoto Yuji, of A-flight. Itching for a fight."_

"_Dragon-12, Takeda Rena, of A-flight. Riding with you, sir."_

The vanguard made their presence announced with a bit of informality. That was fine, as he could see himself saying something similar if he was allowed to. The other three were in Storm Vanguard loadouts, that offered a mix of offensive and defensive strength with assault cannons and supplemental armor attachments.

Takeru chose the Strike Vanguard for its pure striking power capabilities: with two Type-74 blades in either hand and two assault cannons attached to his mount pylons—he would act as a hammer that would push through the enemy line.

Though Strike Vanguards commonly stayed behind the Storms to offer better fire support, Takeru wanted to lead from the front. There was a good chance he would deviate from formation in the chaos of combat, and he would not be in a position to offer the others support. If anything, he wanted to be the one in immediate danger to offer the others an opportunity to fall back.

But, that was all hinging on his own ability. He was still untested in combat, after all. If he froze up, it would all be over.

Takeru narrowed his eyes on the space in front of him—he would not let that happen. No matter what, he would destroy the BETA. He would make a difference.

He realized that the others were still on the line and so he gathered himself. It was not the time to let others see his inner worries.

"Copy that. Golden Dragons, it won't be long now until we arrive." Takeru let a small smile loose. "Hang in there a little longer."

"_Roger!" _A chorus of voices resounded over his headset as the transmission cut.

Their strength was palpable. He could feel it running his veins. Was that the pride of the Imperial Royal Guard? Or was it simply what every eishi felt before battle, flying alongside their comrades? A certain collection of emotions they felt when all of their voices stood as one in defiance against the alien menace.

Either way, Takeru would never forget that feeling. Every day, he would live for that moment. To protect his fellow man, he would fight to the end.

And he would be willing to die, if need be.

* * *

_Niigata Airport_

_IJA Outpost_

_November 10th, 2200 hours_

The base structure was not exactly the most organized space Takeru had ever experienced. Since it was built around the battered ruins of the old airport, the prefab structures on the surface were scattered all about. There was no telling when the BETA could come back and finish off what was left, so the IJA purposely left the base in a limbo of construction.

Thankfully, Takeru had a guide assigned to him as he was taken to his officer quarters. The young woman in front of him introduced herself by the name of Isumi Marika. The first lieutenant was a fellow eishi, and her own squadron was considered the top dog at the base. Still, she seemed incredibly humble and polite.

In a way, she reminded him of Sumika. That large yellow bow tied around her orange ponytail was not helping the situation. His eyes followed it as if he were being hypnotized. As if there was anything else to look at down the stainless steel, underground corridor.

If he had left with the rest of the squadron, he might have gotten to spend more time with them before tomorrow. Unfortunately, his mind had not caught up to his body in terms of readiness.

Maya had already taken the others to their own quarters long before him. Shamefully, he had stayed behind in the hangar in a desperate attempt to get the controls locked down for his Takemikazuchi. He still felt like there was a roadblock in front of him, and he was not sure how to overcome it.

"Sir, we have arrived."

Takeru was shaken from his thoughts when Marika stopped in front of a door. She offered him a sweet smile when he seemed to be flabbergasted. With a simple press of a button, she opened the automatic door and beckoned him inside.

He followed her inside the small dwelling. It was as he expected it to be: very spartan in appearance. There was a simple twin bed with a nightstand off to the side, as well as a small desk for any kind of paperwork he might have had. Fortunately, all he needed it for was to sleep if he could even get that far.

"Welcome to your abode for the next few weeks, sir." A smile grew in the corner of her mouth. "It isn't much, but I'm sure it will grow on you."

If he did not know better, he might have said she was poking fun at him.

"Thanks..." Takeru walked over to the bed and sat down.

Hard. He almost sighed out loud with his disappointment, as expected. It must have translated well onto his face as Marika shifted her stance. When he looked, she was covering her mouth with a hand in a failed effort to muffle her snickering. Those emerald eyes of hers sparkled with mischief at the sight of his misfortune.

"As I said..." She seemed to recover, though the lightness in her voice stayed. "It may take a bit of getting used to."

"I...see."

Suddenly, he was missing the palace and its comfortable bedding. With thoughts of home came a certain someone's face. With her entertaining his thoughts, worry seemed to melt away.

The hard constitution of the bed was forgotten as Takeru lost himself in his mindscape.

_Meiya..._

"..."

Marika noticed that her teasing had been lost on him as his attention was stolen away. She wondered for a moment who or what he could have been thinking about. It must have been nice, what with that loving smile that had developed on his lips.

Perhaps it would be best if she left him to his thoughts. But then, she would never get any of her questions answered. There was more to her offer to be his escort than simple kindness—it was not every day an Imperial Guard squadron made a stop at their door, after all.

The sudden reassignment of maintenance personnel and hangar space had caused quite an uproar when the news first broke. All the naysayers quickly shut their traps when they heard it was not just any IJA ace squad but the Guard themselves.

Marika did not mind the shift in focus, though she was quite interested in their reason for being transferred. From what she heard it was not scheduled until very recently. The Guard rarely left the capital unless it was for ceremonial purposes, so it only left one thing: they were expecting trouble. If they had intelligence the rest of the Japanese Army did not, she would very much like to know what she and her men were getting into.

So who better to ask than the squadron leader?

"Shirogane-sama," Marika said, using the name he had asked her to address him by.

Takeru realized he was spacing out again and turned his attention to the other occupant of the room. He really needed to cut it out. It was embarrassing to zone out so easily—the last thing he wanted was to become another Mikoto.

"Yes? What is it, Isumi-san?"

If she was still around, she must have wanted something. He had a good guess of what it might be, too.

"I wanted to ask you something." She shifted uncomfortably, holding one arm with the other. "I understand if it's classified, but why have you come out here?"

Takeru leaned forward on the bed, his hands clasped between his legs. There was not an easy way to explain it without giving away his information. Telling her that his squadron came out to Niigata under his own personal whims did not sound believable, though it would not be far from the truth. The Imperial Guard had a mandate to protect the Shogunate and Japan, but they often did that from the capital. Only during decisive engagements did they sally forth in any considerable numbers.

And there was no decisive engagement or force buildup for Niigata. Yet, anyway.

That would all change in about another eight hours, he thought as he glanced at the alarm clock on the wooden nightstand. How could he avoid a panic but still remain close to the truth?

_Yuuko-sensei told me once that to make someone believe you, you have to lace truth with lies. I guess that could work this time around..._

"My squadron was sent here to investigate the readiness of the Imperial Army in case of an invasion from Sadogashima Hive." Marika's eyebrows raised, but she said nothing.

"We have reports that suggest the BETA are building up for another attack, but nothing concrete. They want me here as a precaution, just in case."

That was close enough.

Marika seemed to take the information well. Her shoulders slouched in relief upon hearing that his presence there was to support them, rather than be on some witch hunt for traitors.

"Well then I'm glad to have you guys here. With luck, we won't need you!" Her kind spirit had returned.

Takeru grimaced—she would need more than luck to stop that.

"Thank you for answering sir. I'll leave you to your business." Marika saluted, which he returned after standing.

Takeru fidgeted for a moment as he thought over something. Before she could walk out the door, he raised his voice again.

"Wait a minute, lieutenant."

Marika turned to receive his sudden address. Takeru approached her, standing quite a few centimeters taller thanks to his boots. Despite that, she did not seem particularly intimidated by him. If anything, he was taken aback by how easily she could go from kind and bubbly to cool and calm. Not even Sumika, who went through military training, could accomplish that kind of control over her personality.

The girl in front of him must have been more mature than he first surmised.

"I wanted to ask you something before tomorrow." Her eyes narrowed, though she waited patiently for him to finish.

They might not get a chance if he waited.

"When you step onto the battlefield, what will you fight for?" Takeru asked, after a momentary pause.

It was an odd question to ask so suddenly, but it was something he remembered very clearly from his training in the other world. All the other members of his squadron had something in the back of their minds that gave them strength to carry on, even when there was no road left in front of them. It had taken him a long time to come to terms with what a terrible hand he had been dealt in life, but when he recovered, there was no doubt in his mind what he wanted.

Now, he felt like it was his turn to ask someone else. To validate both his own reason, and theirs.

Marika did not take as long as he expected her to in coming up with an answer. All she did was smile after his question was posed, as if she had heard it before.

"For my sisters, of course. I'd like it if we could all come back from the war safely."

"Sisters?"

Marika nodded at his question. She held up three fingers, cutely swishing her hand back and forth.

"Yep, three of them. Two are older, and then there is my younger sister." She sighed. "I bet you would like my older sister, Michiru. She's so cool! They already made her a captain in the UN."

All the while she spoke about her sisters, Marika could not stop smiling. She really loved them. Takeru had no doubt that it was a strong bond they shared with each other.

"And?" Marika said, after her tirade finished.

"And? What?" Takeru asked.

"You can't just ask a question like that and not expect the person to want a response. What are you fighting for, then?" Marika's voice was raised, though her pout was more playful than angry.

"Well...you could say, I'm fighting for the whole world." Takeru laughed, it sounded almost egotistical in comparison to Marika's.

But it was the best way he could describe his desire to see the people of that place saved from the horrors of the BETA. Not just Japan, but everywhere.

"The whole world, eh?" Marika thumbed her chin in thought. "Sounds like you are taking a lot of weight on your shoulders, Hero-san."

"Hey..." Takeru groaned at her teasing.

They both began to smile and laugh together. It was nice to let off steam like that after stress had been bottling up inside of them after so long. Neither of them had anyone else to joke around with—the military was too stiff after all.

"Sorry," she lowered her voice, trying to get a handle of herself, "I shouldn't have said that. It's really an admirable thing. Exactly what you would expect from one of the Guard."

"Don't worry, even I think it's a bit of a ridiculous dream sometimes."

They shared a moment of silence before Marika saluted again.

"Thank you, Shirogane-sama. I'm glad I could talk to you about this."

Takeru returned her salute, smiling.

"Of course. Just keep that promise in your heart, and you won't lose."

"I'll remember that."

Marika dismissed herself, leaving Takeru alone with his thoughts. After a moment, he realized how fast the time had passed. It would not be long before midnight, and he needed to get as much rest as he could. Things were going only going to get more difficult in his near future.

He spent a small amount of time stripping himself of the uniform he had been wearing. Since Maya showed him how to put it on the first time, he had gotten better at it on his own. It reminded him of the time he had to learn how to take apart and rebuild the Type-91 back in basic training. He much preferred the simplicity of a rifle to the many buttons and clasps of the coat.

Now in his undergarments, Takeru dimmed the lights and set his alarm for as early as he could get away with. There was no telling just how early they would have to sortie to reach the beach in time, so Takeru wanted to be up and ready before that.

With the butterflies in his stomach, he wondered if he could really fall asleep that night. He could not stop replaying the battle ahead over and over in his mind. How would he react if this or that happened? What if his squadron was destroyed?

What if his presence there made no difference?

Those thoughts haunted him as he fell into a troubled sleep.

* * *

Takeru awoke with a sharp breath taken into his heaving chest. His body rose with a sudden jolt from the sweat-stained bedding beneath him. Tiredness left him as he turned to look at the clock. It had not even reached the time he set the night before.

Good. Better to be up and early rather than late and dead.

He threw his legs over the end of the bed. With thoughts from sleep still haunting him, he struggled to stand.

The dream had been more memories of the old world. It was convenient that they were of this day, the day that Niigata was invaded. It reminded him what to expect, and when the BETA would hit. Things would not turn out like last time, not as long as he had that power.

Takeru began the taxing process of putting on his uniform. He stole another glance and watched the clock tick from 5:45 to the next minute. If he was lucky, Maya was already up. They could start prepping the Takemikazuchi immediately, and with more luck make it to the beach for landfall.

With his uniform hurriedly put on, Takeru hustled over to the intercom near his door and tried to remember the code for Maya's room. It had been told to him in passing whenever she dismissed the squadron for rest, but he had not been paying attention. Takeru furiously rubbed his head as he struggled to recall the set of digits.

Frustrated, he decided to do the next best thing and contact a comm operator in the command center. It was their job to know such things, anyway. With the press of a single button, the intercom beeped and clicked to signal a successful connection.

"_Niigata Airbase, CnC."_

A very bored sounding voice came over the line. Was it so odd for someone to call them? Or was the base so out of touch they never received any priority messages?

Whatever, he did not have the time to entertain his own musings.

"This is first lieutenant Shirogane Takeru of the 17th Guards Squadron. I need to be patched through to first lieutenant Tsukuyomi's room at once."

There seemed to be a bit of a scuffle on the other line as things were shuffled around. After a while, the voice came back over the line, re-energized compared to a moment before.

"_Y-yes sir. Patching you through now!"_

_Easy enough._

There was a short pause as the line disconnected and then reconnected. Every second felt like minutes as he waited for Maya to eventually pick up. He must have woken her, given the time it took for her to answer.

"_Yes? What is it?"_

That was Maya alright. She sounded out of it, which was a first for Takeru to hear. He could almost imagine her tumbling out of bed in a desperate attempt to reach the intercom. That led him down a very dark line of questioning where he tried to imagine what she had been wearing, so he cut himself off.

"Maya-san, this is Shirogane." More shuffling could be heard after that. "Are you alright?"

"_Y-yes, Takeru-sama. I j-just needed to finish putting on my uniform..."_

"I need you to wake up the others and prep our Takemikazuchi for takeoff. I'm going to head over to the command center."

There was a small gasp over the line, then a pause. It was a very sudden order, to be sure. It also meant that he was revealing his knowledge that trouble was coming. It could not be helped at this point.

If they wanted to make it in time, he would just have to wing it!

"_Is there something wrong, Takeru-sama?"_

"Just call it a bad feeling, Tsukuyomi. I hope it turns out to be nothing but get everyone ready anyway. Do you understand?"

"_..." _He listened closely to her quickened breathing, expecting an answer. _"Yes, I understand."_

"Good, I'll see you soon," Takeru said, closing the channel.

When he exited his room, he was welcomed by the bright lights of the underground steel hallways that were not so unlike the ones at Yokohama. Unfortunately, he still did not know his way around the base. He would have to look for someone who knew their way around.

As he wandered the base's hallways, he realized he must have gone in a circle more than once. Not a single soldier had been in sight, either. Where was everyone? They all could not have been sleeping, regardless of his early wake up call.

Shortly, he came across the mess hall and found a few soldiers playing cards on the lunch benches. They were in a scattered dress, with a few in sweats while others had chosen to put on their BDUs. He was a bit surprised to find that one of them was in fact Marika. He could not tell for sure, but he figured the others were members of her squadron. They seemed to be having a fun time, and he regretted the fact he had to interrupt.

One of the pilots saw him in the doorway and stiffened at his uniform. Everyone else quickly noticed and rose from the bench to stand at attention.

"Salute!"

Takeru entered the room as Marika bellowed her order with poise and authority.

"At ease." He returned the gesture and walked up to Marika.

"I didn't think I would see you again so soon, Shirogane-sama," Marika said, her shoulders sagging in relief.

"Neither did I. Sorry about interrupting your game." Marika shook her head, dismissing his concerns. "Unfortunately, I need to recruit someone to take me to the command center since I don't know the way."

"That's fine, Shirogane-sama. I was just about to dismiss them to the locker room, anyway." She turned to the others. "Get dressed and prepped, go wake the others too."

"Yes ma'am!"

The subordinates quickly made their way past Takeru and out the door. He found her orders odd as the base did not seem to be on alert yet. Had Marika picked up on something he had not?

"This way." Marika led him out.

"Are you expecting trouble, Isumi-san? It's a bit early for combat drills," he asked, after a moment.

At her side, he could see her dimples as the shape of a smile took over. It looked void of emotion as her eyes remained dull with exhaustion.

"I was about to ask you the same, sir. After our talk last night, I couldn't help but worry. Honestly, I didn't really get a lot of sleep."

Takeru bit back a scowl. He did not want to cause anyone discomfort. What he said must have gone a little too far.

"You could say I have a bad feeling." Was all Takeru could manage to say.

"Understood."

Marika read the mood well enough to not ask anything further.

Silence reigned as the two made their way to the command and control center for the entire base. Generally, access to the floor was restricted, but Takeru had the right to move about freely. It was not just thanks to his position in the Guard, but his role as Meiya's noble confidante, that put him in a very trusted position in the military.

That power was put to good use as they were quickly given access to the room by the guards outside. They seemed sufficiently intimidated by Takeru, as if he was about to lash out and bite them. It was kind of amusing, though he felt a bit of remorse. In a way, they reminded him of the gate guards he met when he first came across the base at Yokohama. How the tables would turn if he were to appear in front of those same two with that outfit on.

_That will have to wait._

"I'll rejoin my squadron now. I have a feeling we may be needed before the day is over." Marika saluted him before heading back the way she came.

"Good luck, Isumi-san," he whispered after her as the door shut.

Inside, dozens of monitors flickered to life with visual and audio data. It included the base itself and even the surrounding area and coast. Since the warning lights and sirens were not going off, he could only assume nothing had caught the operators' notice yet. As he entered, those who saw him quickly rose from their seats and saluted.

For many, it was probably their first time encountering a member of the Guard up close. Takeru had gotten mostly used to the attention he received, and so he handled it the best he could. He returned the salute and ordered everyone to continue about their duties. They did so, but with a certain bit of extra energy in comparison to before.

"S-Shirogane-sama? What brings you down here?" Someone stuttered at his side.

Takeru turned to see the commander of the base, Lieutenant Colonel Sato Yamashito, scrambling over to greet him. The balding man was on the pudgy side, and he did not appear to have a strong constitution. Maya said that it happened sometimes to those who were stuck behind a desk for too long, but Takeru felt that the man in front of him was in a league of his own. Regardless, he saluted to offer his respect to the colonel's superior rank.

"Colonel, have you received any recent reports from our picket teams at Sadogashima? Anything about seismic activity or BETA movement?"

At the mention of the BETA, Takeru turned some heads toward him. The colonel noticed and glowered, pushing heads back into their respective monitors. All the same, his eyes had lit up when he made mention of it, so Takeru figured he was on the right track. They must have detected increased activity by this point.

If he had that proof, it would be easier to sortie, perhaps even call for reinforcements.

"Ah, yes we did. It is a usual occurrence though, so we haven't made any particular note-"

"Let me see the report, immediately!" Takeru interrupted him in the middle of speaking.

The room became quiet at the insubordination. Unfortunately for the colonel, he had no punitive control over Takeru or the rest of the Guardsmen. Though ranks were always respected, rarely if ever did the Imperial Guard submit to the command of the other branches. In this situation, Takeru considered it a useful perk.

Colonel Yamashito was not exactly the person he would trust his own life to.

"Y-yes, sir." The colonel led him over to one of the operators.

The young woman with raven black hair that stretched her back turned in her seat and stiffened at their presence.

"At ease, corporal," The colonel said with a gruff tone.

_Great. I already pissed him off._

Well, there was no helping it.

"This is Corporal Toyoda. She handles all of our communications traffic outside of the base itself." The small man waved a hand toward the corporal. "Show him the report, Toyoda."

"Yes sir."

Takeru looked at one of the three monitors she was watching as the information began to pull up. He winced when he saw that the file had clearly not even been opened. What kind of incompetence was this? Did they really ignore such information, regardless of how "routine" it was?

"When was it received?" Takeru asked as the woman opened the file.

"At 0530, sir. The message was sent via the flagship of the 56th Naval Squadron, the _Echigo,_" Toyoda said as she began the process of loading the entire report for viewing.

Takeru had to take a moment to control himself when he realized that it was incompetence that would lead to so many deaths, rather than simply the power of the BETA. If the base commander had taken the warnings seriously, the large amount of casualties suffered in the previous world might have been avoided.

"This is unacceptable, colonel," Takeru said, his eyes narrowing against the man. "How could you ignore this information? The base needs to go onto alert, immediately!"

The colonel was taken aback by the sudden change in tone. A bead of sweat fell from his brow as he struggled to regain control of the conversation.

"But sir, you don't understand how many reports we receive like this everyday. How are we supposed to know which to filter out and which to-"

"You can start by actually reading the information! What are you, an idiot?" Takeru could not believe what he was saying, but he refused to stop.

Just the thought of people dying over this...fat ass pissed him off! Luckily, he was able to hold back his own colorful vocabulary—for now, at least.

That was enough to get everyone's attention back to the heated conflict going on in the room. Takeru and Yamashito were in a tense staring match before Takeru broke it off to look at the frightened corporal.

"What time is it, corporal?"

The woman looked back at her screen.

"It is 0615, sir."

_We have less than five minutes, dammit!_

The BETA were already in the process of moving off Sadogashima as they were wasting time arguing!

"We don't have much time then." Takeru held his chin for a moment, in thought. "Corporal, send a message to all the outposts you can reach in the vicinity of the Niigata prefecture."

Takeru whipped around to address the rest of the control room.

"Don't just stand there, get this base on alert! Who here handles communication within this facility?"

The enlisted around him hesitated. It was not common practice to accept orders without going through the chain of command. Takeru knew that he was basically usurping the colonel, but time was of the essence. How could he hold his tongue?

"N-now wait a moment, Shirogane-sama, this is still my command!"

Takeru turned, his cold stare freezing the man in his tracks.

"Then perhaps you would like to give the order?" He approached the officer, overshadowing him. "Or would you rather have the deaths of thousands on your hands, colonel?"

"Guh..." Yamashito coughed on his own saliva, stunned by the response.

"Sir?" Takeru looked to Toyoda, who had called to him.

She seemed quite afraid to interrupt, but he signaled for her to speak.

"W-what would you like me to say in the message?"

That was something that had not occurred to him. All of the adrenaline pumping through his veins could not make him think any faster than usual. His quick and dirty logic shined through, much to his own chagrin.

"Tell them that the Imperial Guard is going to war." He swallowed the lump in his throat. "All capable military units should be scrambled to the old national highway, route 116 near the Echigo line."

Takeru struggled to remember the exact location of the invasion and listed off the closest place he could think of. It was not his best work thinking on his feet, but it would have to do.

He turned to address everyone present in the room, who were still stunned into inaction.

"Listen to me. The BETA are invading today, and we are all in a position to do something about it. It's time to do your duty so that others can make it out of this alive. Understood?"

There was a pause as the staff looked among themselves, then to the flabbergasted colonel, and then back to the stalwart Takeru. If anyone had any doubt in the gravity of the situation, it was lost by that point.

"Yes, sir!"

They sounded off and began their work with renewed fervor. Toyoda had already started crafting his message, and he could hear the operators speaking over the base intercom. Red warning lights began to strobe in the room as the base went on alert. The screens slowly shifted from pointless surveillance cameras to tactical layouts of the Niigata harbor, projected force compositions, and enemy activity.

"Sir!" Toyoda turned in her seat, eyes wide.

"What is it?"

"What is it!"

Takeru and Yamashito called out at the same time. Before they had time to turn on one another again, the corporal blurted out the news.

"I just received a priority message from the _Echigo_. A brigade-sized BETA force has been detected moving toward the Primary Ocean Defense Line." She turned to read the rest of it. "Furthermore, a considerable amount of Magnus Lux have been sighted off the coast of south Sadogashima."

_Magnus Lux, those are the big ones, right? They must be aiming to destroy the fleet._

"What is their status?" Yamashito asked, beating Takeru.

"They say they will remain on station and engage the submerged BETA in order to prevent the breach of the defense line."

_That's suicide._

A valiant effort, but the Navy would be ripped to shreds with the Magnus Lux presence. They must have been trying to buy time for the ground forces to ready themselves on the Secondary Defense Line.

"Send a message back and inform them they are going to be the Magnus Lux's priority targets. Get them to scatter their forces and fall back to a safe distance. The ground forces won't stand a chance without naval support," Takeru said.

"We both know you don't have the authority to tell them that!"

The colonel finally chose that time to bite back, but Takeru ignored him and focused his attention on the main screen's tactical map.

"Tell them who is speaking, speaks with the authority of the Shogunate. And make it a recommendation, not an order."

_I'm no naval officer. For all I know, I could be making the wrong decision. But I have to try something different, or else they will be lost anyway!_

"Yes sir."

Takeru looked around to see if there was anything else he could do before he headed out. It would not take them long to reach the rendezvous point from the base's location, but he feared what would happen if he left anything to chance while away.

"Sir, we have a priority channel request from hangar A-07," One of the other operators said, a hand on their headset.

That was the Guard hangar. He hoped it was Maya with good news, since at the moment things were getting grimmer and grimmer.

"Patch it through," Takeru said.

"Yes sir." The technician pressed a few buttons before an audible click could be heard in the speakers overhead.

"_This is First Lieutenant Tsukuyomi Maya, requesting permission to speak with First Lieutenant Shirogane Takeru-sama." _Maya's voice filtered through crystal clear.

It sounded like she was handling the situation a lot better than he was. Her nerves must have been made with steel to be able to keep up that cool tone.

"Go ahead Maya, I'm here."

"_Yes." _He could hear her audibly sigh in relief. _"Takeru-sama, our Takemikazuchi are ready for takeoff. We heard the alert over the intercom and are standing by for further orders."_

He could not help but smirk at their impeccable response time. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.

"Understood, I'll be there soon."

"_Roger that." _

The line cut out again, and the loud frenzy of voices picked up again. Takeru gave one last look around before he turned to the colonel and gave a slight bow. While he meant it as an apology, Takeru figured that it would only serve to drive the insult further. Regardless, there were bigger things to worry about. He turned on his heel and headed out, with his goal of reaching the hangar first in his mind.

The country was about to go to war, and Takeru had to redeem his first class ticket and get there first.

* * *

"Dragon-01 to all dragons, prepare for launch."

Takeru settled into his seat as he finished addressing the rest of the squadron. The pre-flight checks were already complete with Maya's quick thinking. They only had to wait on Takeru, who knew he could speed through his own check relatively easily.

With a few button presses on the console near his right arm, Takeru brought the TSF to life. New images flashed on his HUD as the suit detected the TSF and began handshake protocols to exchange information. Slowly, more and more information like ammo counts, radar, and altimeters began to show up.

_This is it. Get it together, Takeru!_

His stomach was throwing fits, and he clenched his hands on the control levers in an attempt to stave off his fears. There was a certain amount of excitement that flowed through his veins along with the pre-mission jitters. It hearkened back to his days of Valgern-on, where a new scenario was a new challenge for him to tackle, rather than a deathly encounter.

"_Takeru-sama," _Maya had opened a channel during his stupor, _"We are receiving a message from the first lieutenant of Thunder Squadron, Isumi Marika. Shall I patch her through?"_

"Yes, send a video feed to me. Filter the audio to the rest of the squadron."

If it was Marika, she had something important to say. It would be a welcome distraction from his own feelings.

"_Understood."_

After a moment, the picture of the young officer appeared over his HUD. She appeared to already be in the cockpit of a TSF, with her fortified suit on. Marika must have been in a similar state of preparedness to their own squadron, waiting for orders to launch.

"_Shirogane-sama!" _Marika called out to him, her voice high in distress.

"Isumi-san, what's the matter?" He shifted uncomfortably in his seat; he had not seen Marika in such a way before.

"_We have requested permission to sortie, but the base commander is refusing us!" _Chills were sent down his spine, not of fear but anger. _"He says the base's security will be compromised if we launch."_

"...Patch me through to him." Takeru would not be able to easily override the colonel's command, as his decision involved the security of the base.

Given the airport's strategic value and general proximity to the expected battle zone, Yamashito had a fair point of desiring the eishi to hold back. At the same time, Takeru feared his judgment was being clouded by something else.

"_Understood, I'll connect him directly."_ Marika's eyes were averted for a moment as she input something on her console.

In response, another image appeared of the colonel. He stood at the head of the command room, looking no happier than when Takeru left. Clearly, he was not in the mood for an argument.

"Colonel."

"_Shirogane-sama, I believe you have already taken the liberty of giving yourself permission to launch. You need not ask me."_

"Colonel, first lieutenant Isumi informs me you are refusing her request to takeoff. May I ask why?"

"_It should be obvious. Given our proximity to the battle zone, our projections tell us the BETA will mark us as a primary target. We need our pilots here, to protect the base."_

"_With respect sir, we have a battalion strength TSF force stationed here. Allowing at least my squadron to sortie would not compromise your security."_

At that point, Marika cut back in. Throughout the colonel's speech, he could see the girl's face slowly scrunch up with displeasure. He was happy to not be on the receiving end of her harsh words.

The colonel snorted in a disrespectful attempt to scold his subordinate.

"_As if you can realize the scope of the situation from that seat of yours. We are looking at a **brigade-sized **force of BETA heading right at us. We'll need every TSF we can get!"_

"Colonel, I-"

Takeru was about to interject when he received an isolated line from Maya.

"_Takeru-sama, we just received news that after sustaining moderate casualties, the 56th, 34th, and 55th Naval squadrons have fallen back, away from the Primary Defense Line." _Maya paused._ "They are reporting the enemy force has not altered its original course and is set to land in less than twenty minutes."_

"Understood. We are heading out now, then."

Takeru input a command into his console and the docking berth around his Takemikazuchi creaked to life. With a hiss and a crack, it separated and fold in on itself, freeing the machine. He watched as the rest of the squadron followed suit and slowly began to walk his TSF outside. The fueling lines connected to the back of the TSF were cut loose and the large doors were opened to exposure from the red-orange morning sun.

He switched back to the waiting line where Marika and the colonel continued to argue with one another over what "strategic" value constituted as, and what "duty" her squadron had as pilots assigned to the outpost.

"Colonel, first lieutenant." Takeru interjected, cutting them both off.

With attention back to him, he swallowed and let loose the heavy breath building up.

"I can't override your orders to keep Marika here at the base, colonel, but I ask you to consider your subordinates' opinions. The Imperial Guard are leaving for the front, and we ask you lend us your strength at this time, so that we can save much more than just this singular outpost."

"_Shirogane-sama..."_ Marika whispered.

"_I will not be persuaded away from this course of action. My orders stand. The squadrons under my command will create a perimeter around this base and protect it from any and all hostiles."_

Takeru closed his eyes and considered his words. He could do nothing but smile in humble defeat.

"Very well then. They are your actions to live with, after all."

Takeru pressed a button and cut off the transmission with the command center. He turned his attention to Marika, who had lost some of the light from her eyes after that exchange. His grin remained, however.

"Isumi-san, regardless of what happens, just remember what we talked about yesterday."

The Takemikazuchi were on the landing strip now, in a single column formation. Gently, Takeru pressed the pedals and ignited the jump units to give himself some lift. The cameras behind him displayed the rest of the squadron following him as they lifted into the sky.

"Everything will turn out okay, as long as you hold onto that strength."

Marika stiffened in her seat and provided him with a crisp salute in response.

"_...We will be right behind you, sir!"_

Takeru could not help but laugh a little before he nodded in return.

"Roger that. We will leave some spoils for you." Takeru pressed a button and ended the transmission.

The Takemikazuchi were soaring in the air now, the base behind them becoming smaller and smaller. In front of them, there was nothing but flat land, long ago soiled by the BETA's advance. Takeru vowed it would not suffer a second rape at their hands.

"_A splendid commander."_ Maya's voice filtered over the radio, in response to Marika's words.

"Yes..." Takeru could not help but agree, she was much stronger than he was.

If only that strength was coming with him, he might have felt better.

* * *

Isumi Marika dropped her arm as the transmission cut with the Imperial Guard squadron. Her hands formed fists in her lap as she shook with frustration. There was no negotiating with her superior officer, and there would be no relief from the Guard to get them out of it.

If the BETA broke through, it would all be for nothing. So many civilians still remained just behind the Secondary Defense Line, and it was sure to be breached if they sat and did nothing.

There was only one thing she could do.

"_Your orders, commander?" _Her second-in-command appeared on the radio, having heard the previous conversation along with the rest of the squadron.

"Disengage docking berths, we are moving out."

Rather than be shocked at his superior's insubordination, the older man simply shrugged with a smile. It seemed the rest of the squadron was in agreement, as no one raised a voice.

"I won't let the Imperial Guard shoulder the burden on their own. If we have the strength to help, then there should be no question in our course of action!"

"_Yes ma'am!"_ Her subordinates cheered over the radio in response.

The Type-89/F-15J's of Thunder Squadron emerged from their hangar to the sounds of a base on the precipice of battle. A battle siren continued to sound, and ground traffic was at an all time high with soldiers and civilian personnel scuttling to their destinations.

Marika expertly maneuvered her TSF through the chaos and reached the landing strip. She was welcomed with another incoming message from the base commander, who had no doubt picked up on her rebellious actions.

"_Isumi, what the hell are you doing?!"_ He bellowed, clearly dissatisfied.

"Following my orders, sir!"

"_I gave you orders to stay at this base-"_

"You gave me the order to create a perimeter and keep the base safe from the BETA. I plan to follow those orders to the letter, sir." Marika smirked, keying her thrusters to achieve lift.

"_This is treason, dammit! I'll have you arrested and shot for this!"_

Before she could respond, her subordinate sent her a message to look behind them. The other two squadrons comprised of Type-77s had left their hangars and were now in formation with Thunder. Inwardly, she was happy to know that there were others who let logic prevail.

"I'm afraid the only ones who could shoot me down just joined me, sir."

Thunder squadron ascended into the clouds, bursting forward after the Takemikazuchi. Behind them, the other two squadrons joined them in matching column formations on their left and right flanks.

She shut down the transmission with the base commander so she could save herself the headache. Anxiety began to creep into her chest as her actions caught up with her. Marika's face was flushed red with embarrassment at how she let her emotions get in her way.

"_Don't worry, commander."_ Her subordinate was still on the line with a reassuring wink. _"He never said the maximum extent our perimeter had to be from the base."_

Marika eased back into her seat, relaxed. Her body was getting in the mood for a real fight, and that icebreaker was exactly what she needed to forget about the last exchange. She would worry about the consequences after they had won.

_For now, I have a promise to keep._

* * *

_Niigata Prefecture_

_Route 116: National Highway_

_0640 hours_

At the Japanese rally point haphazardly created by Takeru, the Imperial Guard stood at the forefront of a formation of dozens of other TSFs. To be honest, he had no expectations his orders would be heeded. To see so many IJA units standing shoulder to shoulder with them, made his chest swell with pride.

For a moment, he felt as though they were an unstoppable force.

The logical side of his brain brought him back down to reality shortly after his tactical analysis had finished. Only a paltry 72 TSFs stood with them against the BETA. While it did sound like a heavy number, Takeru knew it would be nowhere near enough to stand against the _five thousand_ BETA creatures headed straight for them. His brain was still wracking itself to come up with some sort of plan to win, but there was nothing.

"Dragon-01 to squadron leaders." Takeru keyed his mic as he attempted to connect with the IJA forces.

The chain of command would make the situation difficult for Takeru to predict. The IJA were separate from the Imperial Guard, and he technically had no authority over the TSFs outside of his squadron. It was entirely up to their own command structure whether they would cede authority over to him. That would make coordinating any kind of defense hell on them.

Still, he had to try and bring some organization to the other pilots. Otherwise, none of them would survive.

"_Dragon-01, we are receiving you. Go ahead."_ A positive response, good.

"I am here to remind you what you already know: the BETA will be upon us any minute now. The Imperial Guard will take the vanguard and engage the BETA in a delaying action. In the meantime, I ask you to coordinate with your superiors and create a defensive line along the highway."

It was a long shot, but maybe the IJA had a contingency plan for something like this. If he could buy them time, they would have a better chance to figure out something. Maybe more reinforcements could arrive, though his hope became more and more slim as time passed.

There were a series of gasps and sharp bursts of air released by the men and women over the line. Audaciousness was something to be expected from the Guard, but he must have been taking it to another level.

"_Shirogane-sama, with respect, that is suicide!" _said a female officer, incensed with the idea of him putting his life in such reckless danger.

A chorus of voices sounded out in agreement to that assessment. He definitely agreed with them, but that was the situation they were facing. Death was an inch away, from all of them. Hesitation would doom any chance of a successful defense.

Luckily, his second-in-command spoke the words his mind struggled to find.

"_It is the duty of the Guard to lead from the front. We are the first to fight and the last to leave. Make no mistake, if our leader says we will hold the line, then we **will** hold the line. At any cost."_

Takeru could feel nothing but strength flow through his veins in response. It was something he desperately wished he could say himself.

_Thanks, Maya._

After that conversation, there was no need for more talk. It was merely a waiting game for the BETA to begin to surface. The naval bombardment must have resumed, as his optical equipment picked up large geysers of waters out at sea, fast approaching their location. It was scattered and disorganized though, and would be ineffective support for the rest of the TSFs.

Takeru's body tensed as he remembered his first time in the simulator. How, in the middle of his exercise, a BETA silhouette had appeared and caused him to black out in fear. Despite himself, his heartbeat sped up with fear of a similar encounter, made all the more real by his presence on the battlefield.

_Dammit...Dammit!_

Takeru tightened his grip so much that if one could see his knuckles, they were as white as ghosts.

_Don't do this now. Not now!_

The radar picked up new contacts: friendlies, identifying themselves as the 132nd, 189th, and the 195th. It was Isumi's force: they made it to the front after all. That brought their numbers up to 108. Better, but nowhere near perfect.

His body began to shake as the memories of the BETA returned. All the nightmares he ever had when he first slept in that world, of himself being torn to pieces by them, enveloped his body. He could feel sweat pour down his face and his body contort and shake from terror, reliving every moment as if it were real. Thoughts of his loved ones slowly dying in agony, their screams echoed in his ears even still...

"Fuck!" Takeru slammed his fist down onto his knee in an attempt to wake himself.

_I can't let this control me..._

Suddenly, a warning klaxon whined in his ear as a new alert appeared on his HUD. It sent a chill down his spine as he realized that battle was already upon them. As if his name had been called, he knew they were out of time.

**CODE 991**

**WARNING!**

That was when he could see them.

The very top of the Destroyer-class shells peeked out over the low tide that day. They numbered in the dozens at first as more and more popped up from behind in a disorganized, staggered formation. Behind them, he knew Grappler and Tank-class were hiding, lying in wait for a chance to batter and tear a TSF to shreds. His eyes glazed over and the world fell into a dreaded silence.

_Is this...really as far as I can go?_

His vision began to gray as he felt himself losing consciousness. Not from pain or physical trauma, but from fear. Takeru gritted his teeth, fighting to stay awake.

What kind of a soldier was he? How could he face Meiya or any of his friends again when he was such a coward?

His hands struggled to retain their grip on the controls. Takeru bit his lip hard enough for blood to drip down his chin. Finally, he could hear voices in his head, calling out to him.

"_Takeru-sama! What are you orders?!"_ Maya called out to him, her strength transferring to him.

Who knew how long she had been talking to him, trying to get a response. He shook his head and slammed into the cushion behind him. There was no way he was going to lose consciousness just from the thought of the bastards.

That resolve strengthened his body, and let him regain control of his limbs. His fingers and toes began to twitch, then his arms and legs. Memories flooded through his mind again of a universe that was not his own, where he was in the pilot seat of a machine not so different from his Takemikazuchi, where he wore gray rather than yellow.

Takeru's mind assimilated the only value it could gather outside of the muscle memory: hatred, for all that was alien. With those thoughts and memories that were once foreign now firmly implanted in his mind, Takeru knew what he had to do.

"Dragon-01 to all dragons. Enter Wing-3 formation! Prepare to encircle the BETA."

"_Yes sir!"_

Takeru keyed his jump units and moved his Takemikazuchi into a single line in the reverse V formation. Just like Marimo had told him in training, the BETA were most vulnerable at first landfall, when the Lux were still submerged and the full force of the horde could not be brought to bear.

The Guard spread out with the Vanguards taking the front of the formation. It looked like the initial wave of BETA would fit just into their net. If the line extended any farther, the Imperial Guard would be unable to control them.

Destroyer-class emerged from the surf in the first wave, revealing their softly armored legs and mandibles. Takeru started the first salvo as the two assault cannons on his back swiveled under the Takemikazuchi's arms and opened fire. Two 120mm explosive rounds hit the ground directly in front of the first rank. It sent pieces of four creatures hurtling back into the line, where they crushed what he could only guess a few more until their bodies were trampled over.

Following after him, the rest of the line engaged. His gun sweepers laid suppressive fire and ripped into the Ruitare soft spots, forcing the front rank to collapse and form living walls that their compatriots had to push through to advance. The blast guards quickly followed up with an ordnance salvo from their Type-92 missile containers. With enough force to blow a hole into any mountain, the missiles flew overhead and arced right on top of the front line, where they dove into and delivered powerful explosions that shook the enemy formation.

More heavy rounds rocked the land as the navy continued to bring their own weapons to bear. What few land-locked artillery pieces that were in range fired from behind, spilling more alien blood. There was even a moment's pause where Takeru noticed that the number of bodies had actually slowed the BETA's advance onto dry land.

Yet still, they stampeded forward.

The Guard's overlapping field of fire was threatened to be compromised as the BETA smartened up to the tactic of corpse walls. Destroyers began to fan out around the initial landing zone into at least three other sections of beach, well outside the reach of the Imperial Guard. Takeru soon realized they would be pincered and surrounded if they did not retreat.

"Dragon-01 to all dragons, fall back to secondary rally point. Gun Sweepers, take the rear!"

Takeru flew to the rear, now front, of the reverse arrow while the gun sweepers replaced the storm vanguard positions. As they flew backward, they continued to lay down a shattering layer of fire that ripped into the Destroyers and the newly revealed Grapplers as both clambered over the first line.

It would not be long before the BETA impacted the IJAMDF positions behind them. They had to create and organize a firing line, otherwise the BETA would push them back too far. Before Takeru could even start to come up with a plan, screams for support flooded the general channel as the IJA first clashed with the BETA vanguard.

A rank of destroyers pushed through and decimated a group of Gekishins who had attempted to stand their ground against the unrelenting force. From the rear leaped Tank-class, eight-legged creatures with gaping maws at their front, that grabbed a hold of the machines too slow to retreat.

Another unit of Shiranui, the top-of-the-line unit of the Army, rushed into the center, past the Takemikazuchi. Their leader must have desired to buy time and stymie the tide of reinforcements, but they were soon caught in a grueling melee against a literal horde of Grapplers. Their two claws were like the arms of a world-class boxer as they swung right through the Supplemental Armor attached to the arms of the 3rd Generation machines. Cockpit blocks were crushed, legs taken out from under the machines, and arms made useless from the BETA's unending onslaught.

If it kept up for much longer, he would not have any troops left to hold the BETA back. It would turn into a full blown rout.

"Dragon-01 to Dragon-02. Maya-san, what is our naval support doing?!"

It felt as if the bombardment had gone from a slight drizzle to nonexistence in the span of a few minutes. They would be slaughtered without any kind of breathing room, and only the power of artillery shells could give them that. He needed the Navy's support to push forward.

"_It appears as though they are still working out their own command structure after the loss of the Echigo during the first skirmish. Their commanders must be hesitating to bring in any artillery with the BETA so close to our lines,"_ Maya responded, her voice rock solid.

"I don't care who you have to link me to, but let me talk with them. The entire line might collapse at this rate."

"_Understood."_

In the mean time, Takeru ordered his men into a diamond formation with himself at the forefront. They would hold the center, even if it meant it would only be the Guard still standing. His two rifles shredded a bloody path through the line of Tank-class that scurried to reach them. The grip of his machine's arms tightened around the Type-74 blades in its hands, as they waited patiently to shed blood.

"_Shirogane-sama!"_

Overhead, Marika's unit formed a circle formation and began to hover above them, laying down a lethal suppressive fire as they rotated above the battlefield. It was a splendid tactic, though a dangerous one with the impending arrival of the Lux—Laser-class.

"Good to see you made it, Isumi-san," Takeru said, cracking a smile under pressure.

"_I have some good news: the 14th Division is on their way. They are running a bit late but we just received an update on their status."_

That was one small ray of light for the military. The 12th division that was with him now had already taken moderate casualties, and it had not even been ten minutes yet. With another division, they might be able to get a handle on the BETA. It all hinged on them arriving in time, however.

He pulled up a tactical map to oversee the entire battle, rather than just what his radar and camera equipment could pick up. He could see visual representations of every friendly and enemy unit, as well as the topographical landscape surrounding them, with major landmarks and military bases marked accordingly. While it did not take a genius to see the green icons were vastly outnumbered by the sea of red, he was much more interested in what tactics the BETA were using to surround them.

That was when he realized that the BETA were not in fact moving to surround them as it looked from his perspective, but that they were slowly screening south by south-west. Why? Was it because the IJA were holding them back from moving east or north? No, they would stampede through them either way: BETA made no distinction like that.

That was when he started to look at the terrain they were dealing with, and he made a connection. The army's weakest flank coincided with the heaviest shift of BETA, which was their left side, which held the southern reaches of the highway. If the BETA horde continued south, they could avoid the heavy masses of mountains directly behind the IJA formation, which would allow them to stampede right through the softest part of the Secondary Defense Line.

His map scrolled as his eyes moved farther down south. There were a lot of cities and refugee camps that way, while the mountains behind him were largely uninhabited. If they let the BETA have their way, casualties for both military and civilian targets would soar.

His mind finally connected the dots. The BETA were not on some mindless march toward Yokohama like he first believed in the old world. It seemed they had a lay of the land as well, perhaps from their first invasion, and they knew the path of least resistance. It was not the resistance of the humans, but of the land itself that the BETA were trying to avoid.

They had to stop the BETA before they reached the point of no return.

"Isumi-san." Takeru opened another channel, an idea forming in his head.

"_Yes?"_ Sweat was starting to form around her brow too. Things were getting tense.

"Do we have any artillery units to our east, in the mountains?"

They might have a chance, if so.

Marika raised a brow to his question.

"_Yes, there are. Unfortunately, their range is limited due to their current position and they are unable to comply with our fire orders."_

"But if we got the BETA into the mountains, they would be able to shoot. Right?"

Marika's frown deepened as she tried to wrap her head around just how they would do that. Obviously, she did not have as much faith in such a plan as he did.

"_Technically yes, but I don't see-"_

"_Takeru-sama,"_ Maya chose that moment to interject, _"I have Admiral Kusamoto for you to speak with. He is in charge of the remaining naval squadrons in our immediate proximity."_

"Hold that thought, Isumi-san." The second part of his plan that hinged on the navy was now to come into play. "Admiral Kusamoto, this is Shirogane Takeru, squadron leader of the 17th Guards."

"_We are receiving you, Shirogane-sama."_ A visual feed connected him to the bridge of the Admiral's flagship.

There, he could see an older man standing tall with trimmed white hair hidden under the brim of a navy blue cap. He emanated respect the way only the most seasoned veterans could. Takeru struggled for a moment to find adequate words to speak with.

When the admiral saw his face, his eyes widened slightly. His lips tightened from recognition and he bowed his head into the camera.

"_My apologies, Shirogane-sama. I had heard rumors, but I did not realize you were Her Highness's..."_

"There's no time for pleasantries, Admiral. I need your help if we are to keep the BETA away from the Secondary Defense Line. Can I count on your support?" Takeru grimaced as he turned his attention to the tactical map as more friendly blips disappeared.

"_Of course, my lord. However, without proper firing coordinates, I fear we will be unable to guarantee the safety of friendly forces."_

"I have a plan for that, Admiral. One moment," He pressed a button on the terminal and connected Marika to the transmission. "Isumi-san, I need your help with something."

"_Of course, what is it?" _

She was keen to hear his daring plan now that they were on their back foot.

"I need you to move to these coordinates," Takeru typed in information to his terminal and a new icon appeared on the tacmap, "at Mt. Sumon, and mark for inland and naval artillery. To have any chance, we need better eyes down here."

There was a short pause as she considered the proposal. Marika was aggressive and confident, and he knew she had the skills to stand toe to toe with the BETA on the front, but he needed someone he could trust relaying those coordinates. He knew she would not give up so easily, as she had the same nerves of steel Maya had.

"_Understood. My squadron will make our way there now."_

_She trusts me. Good._

Takeru nodded and cut the transmission, returning his attention to the admiral who had silently listened to the exchange. Above him, the squadron of F-15J's flew off toward their rear line, into the lush mountains.

"There you have it, Admiral. We will get you those firing coordinates within the next minute or so, so please prepare your ships for an immediate area denial bombardment."

The admiral considered his words for a moment.

"_Area denial, huh..." _The man rubbed his cheek before nodding. _"Understood, we will be ready to fire on your coordinates."_

"Thank you, we will be counting on you."

"_Just as we are counting on you, Shirogane-sama."_

Takeru cut the transmission and set his eyes on the battlefield again. Considering the number of BETA, it was hard to tell whether they had even put a dent in the enemy line, but he knew the real combat had not yet started. They were merely skirmishing—the prelude to a real fight.

"_Takeru-sama..."_ Maya spoke after a long while of silence. _"May I ask what your plan is?"_

It was a reasonable question, considering even he was not sure if his decision was the best. But, there was no backing out now. He had his objective: protect the civilians and stop the BETA before they reached the secondary defense line. The plan he had was the only way he saw them accomplishing it.

"_At this rate, the BETA will wear down our numbers with simple attrition. We cannot hope to hold this position for much longer. Conventional containment is not possible."_

Her tactical standpoint sounded obvious, but was clear cut and very true. Logically, the amount of soldiers they had simply was not enough to defeat the BETA force. Slowly, they were being pushed back east while the BETA moved south, and that was something they could not allow.

So, his plan had something unconventional in mind.

"My plan is to trap them, but not with bodies or TSFs, but with nature itself." Takeru began to tap commands into his tacmap so Maya could see what he meant.

A red arrow appeared showing the BETA's estimated path south of their current position.

"With their current path, the BETA will rip right through our lines and no amount of reinforcements will stop them from reaching the civilian refugee camps."

Two red bars with diagonal lines intersecting them separated the area of Niigata they were in from both a north and south angle, ending in the mountain pass at Sanjo.

"With a large scale area denial barrage on our north and south flanks, the BETA will encounter an impassible wall of resistance that will funnel them into our positions in the mountains."

New blips appeared on the tacmap, representing the estimated positions of the 14th Division. The bulk of them would come from the south-east, right through Mt. Daisen, where Takeru planned to make his stand.

"While a small TSF force engages and distracts the BETA in the mountains, two other groups will remain to our far north and south, catching any stragglers that survive the bombardment. The bombardment will slowly close its maws and focus fire on the horde once the BETA rearguard has made landfall."

The tacmap showed two new friendly units, one labeled blue and the other red while the friendly units in the mountains remained green. It zoomed back in on the Niigata shore where the red blips were labeled as Lux-class in the very rear of the formation. Arrows showed the movement of the red and blue groups around the flank of the BETA horde, clashing with the Lux.

"While we distract them in the mountains and receive artillery support, the forces on our flanks will sweep into the rear of the herd and engage in laserjagd operations to finish off the enemy's aerial denial capabilities. Then they start to push inland and flank the enemy as they push into the mountains."

The tacmap showed the mountain pass at Sanjo that served as a narrow checkpoint to keep the flow of BETA into the mountain pass at a slow pace. A red X appeared over the pass as more artillery units lit up in the mountainous regions.

"Using artillery, we cause a massive land slide to dissect the enemy formation in two. Green group will continue to fall back to the base of Mt. Daisen where, with our reinforcements, we will launch a counterattack and push into the enemy line."

It was an extremely risky plan, especially for the units that would act as the bait in the mountains. The artillery did not have an unlimited supply of shells either, and the unique tactic would use up precious munitions they would need in later stages of the plan. Nonetheless, it was the best he could think of.

"_A bold plan...but dangerous for those who retreat into the mountains."_

"That is something only we can do. Any other unit would collapse."

"_We too will collapse..."_ Maya sighed. _"But not before accomplishing our objective of buying time, yes?"_

Takeru smirked, she understood things better than he did.

"I'm counting on you."

Maya began to relay his plan to the remaining squadrons and Takeru's plan began to bear fruit. They were roughly split into three groups, with the majority of the remaining forces being a part of the north and south flanks. One squadron would join Takeru's as they fell back toward Sanjo while the rest would enforce a strict quarantine of the new battle zone along the old 289 route on the national highway.

"_Shirogane-sama,"_ Marika came over the radio. _"I'm in position, ready to mark coordinates."_

"Dragon-01, roger that." Takeru connected to the squadron leaders. "All squadrons, the operation begins now! Break combat and move into position."

"_Roger that!"_ They called out, and the TSFs surrounding them began to move.

Takeru willed his own Takemikazuchi to move and he began to lead his squadron east. At the same time, he gave the signal for Marika to begin the bombardment. There was a minute of tense calm that settled over the battlefield as both sides disengaged from one another.

Then, an ear shattering set of explosions could be heard and seen in the distance as the artillery began again. The BETA made no immediate shift, but he knew they were hurting. The sea of black in his peripherals was being torn apart by that artillery, and he knew they would have no choice but to go along with his plan.

* * *

_Niigata Prefecture_

_Sanjo, Route 289_

_0705 hours_

"_Shirogane-sama, I have sights on the rearguard of the BETA. They just emerged from the sea!"_

It had been a tense while as Takeru and his two squadrons participated a desperate holding action in the mountains while the artillery slowly closed its trap on the BETA. With the added firepower of the mountain artillery battalions, the enemy was being whittled down, but the ground war was rough. The tight mountain passes and overwhelming enemy numbers led the TSFs to play a dangerous game of cat and mouse through the jagged landscape of trees and rock.

"Dragon-01, acknowledged. Do we have a number of Laser-class?"

"_Counting now...we see three Magnus Lux and over 90 minor Lux strains inside their formation."_

_It could be worse...but still, it's pretty bad._

With that kind of firepower, they could _melt_ the mountains around them, given time. With luck, Red and Blue groups would finish them off long before they got off the beach. Now, it was all the more important that they hold.

"What is the ETA on reinforcements?"

"_The 14th Division is five minutes away, Takeru-sama."_ Maya answered him that time.

"Okay..."

It was time to stop running. They had already lost six Gekishin piecemeal to the enemy, and he refused to stay separated any longer. None of his own pilots had fallen, but it was only a matter of time.

"Green group," Takeru activated a group-wide com channel. "Fall back to the outskirts of the Otani Dam. We make our stand there!"

"_Affirmative!"_

"_Roger that!"_

The men, however tired, responded to his order with a bit of energy. He knew it had been more than tough for them to hold on for so long, but somehow, they had made it that far. One way or the other, it would not be long until the end.

Takeru's Takemikazuchi flew in low over the BETA barreled through them like a screw driver. He held his blades to his sides, using his own inertia rather than the carbon actuators to do the hitting for him. Any of the beasts that got near were torn to shreds by the golden bullet, opening a small path that brought him to his destination. He could already see the others rallying and sought to organize them the best he could.

"195th, form a Wing-3 reverse V formation and provide us fire support. Dragons, prepare for Arrowhead One."

"_Understood."_

The Gekishin would be of no use in close combat, so he would have them stay back and act as a net to catch stragglers and provide long range support. The Takemikazuchi would be the spearhead that shot right into the enemy line, where they would hold them back with bullets, blades, and blood if need be.

"Isumi-san," Takeru opened his channel with the girl one last time.

She had done an amazing job in the position he had so suddenly thrust onto her, and so he could not ask for anything more after the next order. They shared a weary smile before he spoke once more.

"Mark artillery coordinates on the center of the horde and end the aerial denial. It's time we cut them in half. After that, I leave it up to you to engage targets at your own discretion."

"_Understood..." _Marika shifted in her seat, brow furrowing. _"Shirogane-sama, after this is over..."_

"Let's wait until it really is over to celebrate."

And boy, would he celebrate.

"_Please, call me Marika when this battle is over."_

Her request floored him, as it was unexpected and forward. It made some sense though, he always felt it was really stiff to call peers by their last names. She was close to his age anyway, so it was not so weird.

"Alright, but you have to call me 'Takeru'."

Marika smiled and nodded, not daring to say more. Neither of them wanted to jinx it. He could have sworn her cheeks were flush with color before the transmission cut.

No matter, he had arrived at the front of his formation, taking the head of the arrow for his own. His storm vanguards stood at his flanks with the rest of the squadron not far behind, fanning out to the sides. They were on their last magazines, but either way, the battle would soon be over.

It was finally time to end it and call humanity's first victory in two years against the BETA.

And Takeru would see it through to the end. No matter what, he would not let them pass.

"Dragons, this is it." Takeru fanned his blades out to his side, forcing his Takemikazuchi into a ready position.

"We will not allow them to take a single step past this point, understood?"

"_Yes sir!"_

The BETA pushed forward, undaunted by the layer of artillery coming down over there heads. The front rank consisted of Destroyer-class with additional Grapplers and Tanks coming in behind. Takeru even marked a few Fort-class towering over the vanguard, and he knew they would be his first targets.

All of the monsters in front of him were together, in one mind. They had but one goal: to destroy him and everything he treasured in that world.

To win, he stood with the rest of humanity. Together, they would win the war one bloody inch at a time.

And he would not shy away from it anymore.

"Dragons, come with me!" Takeru forced his levers and pedals forward as he ignited his jump jets.

"_Charge!"_

"_Banzai!"_

Behind him, Maya led the rest of the formation while Takeru accelerated ahead with the rest of the vanguard. Hell was in front of him, but he would cut a path through it with his blades. His gathered speed was enough to shoot him right through the first enemy rank. The blades carved through the vulnerable flanks of two destroyers.

With such speed, the BETA were unable to latch onto him, nor could they easily counter his attack. His TSF began to enter into another spinning motion as his blades acted as a saw that sliced through anything too close. He barreled right through the enemy formation, straight toward the closest Fort-class. It was his intent to cut them down before they could approach the front rank where his men would stay.

The other Takemikazuchi slammed into the line with a deadly force, cutting down the enemy where they stood. Maya climbed atop an enemy corpse and ran her blade through a grappler that tried to dismount her, all the while spraying her assault cannon into a triad of tanks that attacked her wingman's flank.

The Blast Guard fired the last of their missile containers, aimed at the most densely packed formations over the Fort-class, as per Takeru's order. The fragmentation rounds exploded overhead, raining hot lead and steel on the dozens and dozens of beasts waiting for death. Heavy caliber rounds exploded into destroyers and grapplers while 36mm depleted uranium raked the smaller strains until there was nothing left.

Yet still, the enemy stomped over their fallen for a taste of human blood.

It was a minute in and the first Takemikazuchi fell to a horde of Tank-class. Five of the red monsters latched onto his jump units, causing them all to explode in a fiery mess. Another pilot was lost when their cockpit block was stabbed through the back by a grappler's claw, crushing the inside.

Takeru observed one of his storm vanguards as they made it deep into the enemy formation, right in front of his target. The lumbering Fort-class lunged at her with its stinger, barely missing as she forced her TSF into a roll. The Takemikazuchi collapsed as more BETA moved in, and he knew she did not have long.

Takeru accelerated forward and exited his corkscrew maneuver to meet the Fort-class head on. At the last moment, he shifted left and watched as the stinger came up. With a single strike from his blade, the acidic stinger was brought crashing down while the now headless tail spewed its deadly contents on the BETA below. He wasted no time in forcing his machine under the belly of the beast and running his swords through the vulnerable purple joints that held the eight needle legs together.

As he flew past the Fort-class, he rose up and forced his TSF into a full one hundred eighty degree dive, straight for the neck joint. With his blade already held in front of his body, Takeru made one slice as he fell down, decapitating the alien in one swoop.

With his speed still carrying him, he approached his fallen comrade's TSF. It was already surrounded by tanks and grapplers, but he found them no more intimidating than insects taking a swipe at his meal. The three spiked toes of both legs dug themselves into the backs of tanks that had gotten too close to the cockpit block, and Takeru sent his Type-74 CCWs into the flesh of the nearest grapplers.

A warning light appeared on his right side as a tank leaped at him. Takeru flicked his control lever and thumbed the fire button, causing one of the rifles slung on his back to swivel and fire, ripping the tick to shreds. Another warning, this time from behind. He let go of the blade that had dug itself too deep into the grappler and swung his arm back, fingertips pointed out, into the waiting arms another tank that desired to take a bit out of his engines.

The super carbon enhanced fingers pierced through the open mouth of the little creature, skewing it on Takeru's arm. With one swiping gesture, its dead carcass was sent flying into the surrounding horde. With his enemies finished for the moment, Takeru used his one free arm to grab hold of the down pilot's cockpit block.

"Dragon-12, Rena, activate your manual ejection override. Now!" He shouted into the comm, hoping she was still conscious.

After a tense moment, he felt some resistance as the cockpit "popped" from its seal and was ready for removal. With one tug, he held the cylindrical object that contained his downed vanguard in the palm of his hand. Not willing to risk her life, Takeru accelerated backward toward the rest of the formation.

Maya identified his figure immediately and ordered the squadron to provide covering fire, destroying any BETA that got close to his fleeing form. Takeru deposited her block with the remnants of the 195th before he charged back to the front, unwilling to allow more of his comrades to die.

Just as he rejoined his men on the wall of destroyer corpses, over the mountains came a torrent of fire that ripped into the enemy line. Though not as heavy as the artillery that continued to drop on the horde farther back, these rounds were just as effective and effectively caused a lull in combat.

It gave Takeru enough time to look and see what had arrived. When he identified them, he could not stop himself from smiling.

"Marika...and the 14th!"

"_Reinforcements have arrived!"_

An excited voice echoed over the general channel as the front rank of TSFs, made of the elite Type-94 Shiranui, came sweeping down into the enemy formation and raked their lines with assault cannon fire.

More and more TSFs came swarming over the mountain as Takeru realized they were saved. With their allies came a new breath of air in his lungs that felt like it could carry him right to the end.

"We finish this, now!"

Takeru accelerated forward again, in one hand wielding a blade, the other a rifle. Maya ordered another charge as the rest of the Takemikazuchi followed him in from behind. More Shiranui joined their ranks, creating a steel tide barreling straight for the thinned herd in front of them.

The end was in sight.

* * *

_Southern Nagano Prefecture_

_0905 hours_

"We will continue to comb the surrounding area for hostiles," Takeru said, his eyes struggling to stay open. "Looks like we will have to save that celebration for later, Marika-san."

"_Understood, Takeru-sama. I'll be waiting for that day."_ Her eyes bore into him. _"Stay alive until then."_

"Roger that." He switched off the channel, sighing.

He rubbed his eyes with one hand while the other continued to hold his TSF steady.

Though the battle had been a success, there was no telling how many BETA had slipped past their cordon. They had found a few stragglers, but by 0830, the situation had been labeled as 'dealt with'. For all intents and purposes, Takeru had no reason to continue his patrol.

He _should_ have headed north, but he knew that this was his one chance. They were as close as they would ever be to Yokohama base, and he had just the excuse he needed.

"Dragon-01 to Dragon-02, hold here. I'm going to try and contact a nearby base for resupply."

"_Affirmative."_ Maya's exhaustion croaked over the comm as he knew they were all running on empty.

They still had not even had the chance to mourn their fallen. But that time would come later, rather than sooner. As Eishi, their mission had to come first and right now, Takeru was dragging them along to his own tune, selfishly.

He hoped they could understand and forgive him when the time was right.

"Dragon-01 to Yokohama Base, please respond."

There was a short pause before he was responded to in English, the international language used by the United Nations forces.

"_Dragon-01, this is Yokohama Base. Go ahead."_

Takeru sighed, this was it. He had to make the message sweet, otherwise _she_ would not take the bait.

"This is Shirogane Takeru of the 17th Guards Squadron, 2nd Regiment of the Imperial Royal Guard. I am requesting permission to land for the resupply of my squadron, and I have business with Kouzuki Yuuko, the Vice Commander."

A longer pause before they came back over the line.

"_Dragon-01, confirm your last. Did you mention Dr. Kouzuki?"_

Takeru gripped his control levers to steady himself. There was a chance he would be damned for this, but there was no other choice.

"That's right. I have a special message from the Shogun I need to deliver. It pertains to Alternative IV."

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Muv Luv**

**For those who browse the wiki, look out for a battle analysis of Provenance's Invasion of Niigata in one of my blog posts coming up. Hopefully it will have plenty of graphics like you would expect to see from a visual novel, in an effort to show you just how Takeru's plan was pulled off. **


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